We are having such a great time here at the beach, I feel like I’m in a dream. An idyllic world where God is near and life is slow and simple, serene and sublime.
We have been swimming a lot and surf fishing the last couple of days. Last night we had a fish fry with our [edible] fruits of the sea. Man, was it good! We primarily ate whiting and it was a really nice tasting fish. Very mild and light and the skin cooked up really crispy. Quite a contrast to the king mackerel we had eaten a few night prior which was more like a tuna steak kind of fish. Yesterday I caught a sting ray, which we did not eat. Those are so gross. And we were all so disappointed because when reeling it in we thought it was a flounder. Oh well, maybe today we’ll get a flounder.
Don is here with us a few more days and it has been really nice having him here this week. It took him a good 3 days to really relax and sink into our life here but now that he has, he’s hooked. He already wants to plan for us all to come back in the fall, when the rates are low again.
And, this trip has me really thinking about our lives in general.
We live a fairly simple life at home but I think Don, Rye, and I would benefit from an even simpler life as we go forward. A life more focused on nature, self support (gardening and hunting) and the outdoors. Here at the beach we have no television (although we do watch movies), very little computer time, and most of our time and energy is focused on the outdoors. Rye is the most relaxed I think I have ever seen him. Well, we all are really. It’s significant and something to think about for the long term.
And being here makes me realize how unhealthy suburban life is for our family. When we moved to the town we live in, we moved there because it was in the country. That was the appeal. We have a decent sized lot, we are surrounded by others with large lots (acres), we were mostly surrounded by farmland and large horse farms and there were no really commercial shopping centers or anything resembling the suburbs in the area. Over time, though, that has changed. And so has the town.
Now there are housing developments everywhere, tract housing for the lower price points and huge custom homes for the more elite. Commercial strip malls are coming in. Fast food restaurants are coming in. More rules and regulations are being placed on the residents and police man the town at all times, giving endless speeding tickets to support their salaries. The demographics of the area is changing. The farm and horse people are being bought out, moved out, and replaced by middle to upper-middle class families who are very focused on the size of their house, their tiny yards, their belongings, their house decoration techniques, their appearance, how ‘Christian’ they are, what their neighbors think of them, and how their children appear in society.
It’s depressing. And really not what we want long term.
So, what to do…what to do.
I’m not really sure right now but we will think about it. Mull it over, pray about it, and see what transpires.
Until then, we will continue to enjoy our time here and let our minds wander where they may.
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Very interesting musings. We too have been mulling over how to get a simpler lifestyle (and still have access to the needed medical care…) We have decided that our family doesn’t fit into the suburban lifestyle either. And we want to be closer to extended family.
It’s hard because there is nothing intrinsically wrong with suburban life. And I know so many people in the U.S. and in so many countries work really hard to gain a nice, safe, life in a suburban area where their kids will be safe and secure. We have done it ourselves. But to me, to us, although this life is nice at first, there is ultimately something very empty about it. And when you have a child that struggles to fit in well with ‘normal’ society but fits in perfectly well with God and nature and a more natural life, it becomes evident which lifestyle should be pursued. For us, anyway.