Hayseed

Today I realized just what a hayseed I am.

I made a comment on fb to Zee about how I don't see how she does it. Living with neighbors so closely packed together. I think she must have rolled her eyes a bit when she mentioned to me, it would be no different than living in New York, LA, or any city.

I had one of those "doh" moments when I realized just how stupid my comment sounded. Of course Zee was right, it wouldn't be any different for anyone else, but it would be different for me.

I am a country girl. I have always lived in a rural area. Either in the country or in a tiny town, the closest thing to a traffic jam is when two combines meet on the road.

Sometimes I forget that the rest of the world isn't like my world. I forget that things move at faster paces, and people travel from parts all over in just a matter of hours. Whether by plane, train, or automobile, the amount of travel and the speed at one gets to their destination, is quite a marvel.

I have never been on a plane. Never been on a train. Never took the subway anywhere, in fact my main mode of travel has always been by car. The first vehicle I ever learned to drive was an old Ford pick-up with huge extended side mirrors. A leftover from it's previous camper excursions. It was two toned, unless you count the rust and then it was three. It had the old dimmer switch on the floor, and cruise control was not an option. It served me well though, and if I learned one thing on those back roads of Nebraska, it is never to drive on a dirt road when it is raining.

Today when talking to my mom, she mentioned her sister had called her and talked about going on another trip. She already has a trip planned to Europe in a couple of months, but now she was thinking of a second trip. A trip to Australia. My mom has two sisters who both travel a lot in their retirement. They send her postcards from Alaska, Peru, Africa, and their latest cruise ship travels. Every year it's a new trip, a new destination. Sometimes those two sisters will travel together with their spouses, but most of the time they travel separately, Secretly I think it is so they can "one up" the other on their travel adventures.

I feel bad for my mom though. She never travels. Her big trip will involve driving to Omaha or Lincoln and doing a bit of shopping before heading back home. She doesn't even make it out of the state. Oh she has been places before, she lived in different spots around the country, but she doesn't travel like her sisters do. Being a stay at home mom for years, we never were a double income family growing up. Mom only went to work when we were old enough and my dad's health continued to decline. Even after the passing of my day, mom's finances didn't improve much. There were the bills and a funeral to pay for and home repairs to be made that had been put off.

I asked mom if she would like to travel too, and her answer was "no". I think a part of her would have said yes. It's hard to travel when you are single. One hates to feel like a fifth wheel, and every time she travels a short distance with her sisters to a wedding or family event, she swears it will be her last. I can understand her viewpoint.

Her body is the other culprit. Traveling involves sitting for long stretches, something she doesn't think she is able to do any more. When looking closely at her, you can tell from her hands she suffers the ravages of arthritis. Swollen joints, big knuckles, fingers that refuse to cooperate and stay straight, twist and turn in different directions. Her feet are even worse.

Sometimes I get a little resentful for her. I get irritated with her sisters that call to tell her of their trips they are planning. I get a little peeved that not only can she not afford the trips, her health and being widowed adds to her burdens of why she doesn't take big trips.

I envy those who travel. It sounds like fun, it looks like fun, but it's something I never put as a priority for me. I blame it on the practical side of me that thinks of the cost and just what I could buy or invest with those funds. I can't swim, so cruises don't float my boat. I am afraid of heights, so flying is beyond my reach. The thought of traveling on a subway daily makes me feel claustrophobic.

I don't think I have much of that wanderlust in me. I keep hearing Jim Stafford's words echoing thru my mind of "taking a trip and never leaving the farm". And no, don't worry, I am not given to smoking anything funny or rolled, those silly lyrics just seem to fit my mindset on traveling.

I think back on Zee's comment today and wonder if I shouldn't make more of an effort to travel more. To become less set in my ways and if I shouldn't make myself a little uncomfortable with something new. I look down at my hands and can only mentally compare them with my mom's. So far, my fingers are straight...well except for that little pinky finger that curves in a bit on that joint. Some days I do notice a little swelling in some of the joints after a few hours of weeding or string trimming.

Some days I feel to old to travel, and other days I feel like I should think about traveling before I get to old. It's something I will have to talk my practical side into though. Who knows maybe one day I will even get onto a plane. Some days I look at my mom and can't believe at one time in her life, she didn't just fly in a plane, she flew one. Now that is what I call traveling...