Absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder. When I return to the rural, northern Saskatchewan town where I grew up I am always amazed at the things that I took for granted while I lived there during my childhood and youth, for example:
- being able to walk anywhere I need to go in town.
- the neighbourly over-the-fence conversations, chats in the grocery store and post-office, and being waved to by at least 50% of the people you pass by.
- the wide open prairie skies that (on a typical day) announce the beginning of a new day with a beautiful sunrise, are watery blue by day, and then end each day with the most vibrant sunsets, followed by a deep starry dome at night. If we're lucky, we may even have a singing and dancing northern lights show to bid the day farewell. It is here, under these "living skies", that I can most easily breathe.
- the instant calm and relaxation that comes from summer evening on the lake just a stone-throws distance north of town, kayaking among the calling loons and busy beavers.
- eating wild raspberries, saskatoons and fresh peas straight from the source.
- evenings spent around a fire.
- the overall slower pace of small-town life.
Yes, I miss this place. I had not, however, missed the plentiful mosquitoes!
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