We live in the small town of Marsing. The grocery store we visit, the theater, the drugstore, the hospital and doctors' offices all range from about 15 to 40 miles away. (Not the gas station anymore, though!) Whenever we bring something home to eat (like McDonalds - although we haven't done that since Day 226) the food is always cold by the time we get home.
But the most inconvenient drives are the ones to the doctors' offices. Most of my doctors are 30-40 miles from here and they always involve rush hour traffic. If it's a morning appointment like today, I get caught in the morning traffic, and if it's an appointment anywhere from 3:00 on, it's the afternoon traffic.
No rush hour traffic here in our town. While a major highway runs through it, the speed limit is 25 mph. We have stop signs and crosswalks, of course, but no stop lights. And my drive to work consists of highway driving in the country to another town with no stop lights. While I like small town living, I wonder if we'll ever leave. Our house is paid for. My husband is a few years from early retirement. And some days I get darned tired of driving us everywhere.
I just took my husband to the local market again and sat there wondering how many times can you do something before it gets old. I don't go into this particular store with him anymore because he's a talker. He always, always, always strikes up a conversation with someone in there. Whether it's a current or former student, a fellow employee, or someone he knows from the community, he chats away. So I've learned it's best to just stay in the car and wait because it'll be a long time before he's done.
Depending where I park in the parking lot, I get an interesting view that never gets old. The store is plopped right down on the corner. The highway runs right by it, old homes sit beside it, and the high school gym is across the street.
Those old houses have old garages that go with them. A rolling stone may gather no moss, but an old roof sure does.
