Back in the City

I am back at my little apartment in the city. I'll be here for a month or so and then go back to the little town in the hills for awhile longer... until the weather changes or I need to go back or until it just feels like the right thing to do.

I am glad to be back here in the city because I do miss things here when I am away, mostly friends. I am always delighted the way people greet me when I return to some place ... like maybe I'm a long lost dear friend, which maybe I am. I'm also glad to get back to things like walking each day to get coffee which I did yesterday and today. Both days I didn't just get coffee; I also got breakfast pastry at two lovely places. Tomorrow I'll  do gardening Red Butte so it will be breakfast at home and then coffee to go. I'm looking forward to that.

I have been thinking about this indulgence of maintaining two homes ... two small homes, but nevertheless two homes. It certainly is a luxury and of course not at all "minimal." I never really planned this arrangement; it just kind of happened. But now that it has happened, I find I really like this lifestyle and would not want to go back to just being in one place all the time.

 I was contemplating how I would feel about the city if I had lived here constantly for the past 6 years. I think that by now I would be very unhappy with living in the city. I find that I know I am glad to return here and to be here because I know I won't be here all the time. I have some place else.

And it's the same with my small town home. I am very glad to escape the summer in the city. I am very grateful I don't have to spend winter in the small town. Doing that year after year would also make me a bit crazy.

Someone asked me if I don't get lonely in the little town because I do know many more people in the city. My answer was no, never. I find a huge difference between being alone and being lonely. I have rarely been lonely at any time in my life. I don't know why, don't know my secret that has caused me to be sort of immune to that feeling. I also don't know any advice to give to anyone else who does suffer from loneliness.

So right now I am doing things around the apartment to improve my space. I've decided to get rid of some furniture pieces that have not proved to be as useful as I thought when I got them. That's good. It's feeling like a burden being lifted. I've packed up some more stuff to move into the permanent place in the country. I'm going to re-arrange some artwork on the walls. I'm debating about whether I do want to sign up for Comcast for say 6 months once winter is about to set in. The jury is still out about that, and I don't have to decide until maybe October or November. We'll see.

I heard a comment on the radio today about how Americans may be hunkering down at the moment, not spending money on things, just waiting to see how the economy goes. I certainly feel rather frightened about what might could happen to us all in the near future. I had already decided to hunker down even more than usual no matter what happened out in the world. I know this will be good for me. I don't know about my part in keeping the economy going.