You Know You Are in the Country When

Most people wake to alarm clocks and the possible light of the sun peaking in your window as it casts its glow on your face. You know you are in the country when you hear at least one crowing rooster and the mooing of the cows calling you to the barn for feed.

The average household requires cleaning of the front porch of the leaves, possible loose trash and accumulation of outside equipment. You know you are in the country when the porch has "mud" or other globs of goo lurking across the steps, there are at least two pairs of tall rubber boots thrown helter skelter across the porch and at least one piece of equipment has a long handle that may be mismatched. You see piles of buckets, and pails full of chicken scraps and there are bowls of cat or dog feed. There also is an outside hook where barn coats and winter overalls are hung once the work is completed and you don't want to get yelled at dragging barn yuck through the house.

You know you are in the country when you have to call about the chickens getting too close to the road. In the city you worry the dog may have gotten loose.

You hear traffic and car noise in the city. You know you are in the country when your house shudders as the semis thunder past the house early in the morning and late at night with their head lights beating through the drapes of every window from a half mile away.

Night sounds in the city may be the music of the next door neighbor, the sound of an outdoor party, the boombox of the neighbor's kid as he cruises the neighborhood or the scream of an emergency vehicle racing to the site of the next news at six report. You know you are in the country when late at night the sound of crickets singing lulls you to sleep, or you hear the cry of the coyotes calling to each other in the fields. The ultimate sound of the country is the quiet of the night as the full moon rises high in the sky as night blankets the earth with silence.

You know you are in the country when a John Deere tractor is the only toy a boy wants and he isn't sure what a gameboy is. When farm clothes with the John Deere logo are the best loved clothes of your boys rather than American Eagle or Gap. When Carhart overalls mean more than a leather jacket. When work boots mean that steel toes beat dress tennis shoes.

City living looks for every piece of porch furniture to match and color coordinate with a theme in the house. Country life allows your great aunt's table to have its honored place on the porch so that every picnic reminds you of family gatherings on her screened in porch and the value of porch swings.

City life means fashion and design can sometime beat function. Country life means that function is occasionally lucky enough to have fashion and design.

Country life is loud and obnoxious play and work, with some foul smelling by-products. City life is the ultimate scent of today's marketing ploy from the tv commercial to create an ambience.

You know you are in the country when you are waiting behind a large piece of farm equipment and the farmer doesn't seem to notice there is a long line of waiting traffic behind him as he works to make his living. Living in the city you hear the horns and insults shouted at the driver that slows the progress on the road for each important individual inconvenienced by their road interruption.

You know you are in the country when you hear kids talking about tractor races, chasing cows that broke through their fences or just plan lighting a bonfire of collected brush to share with their friends. You know you live in the city when the talk turns to going out cruising, sitting in the park waiting on friends or going to McDonalds as the meeting place.

You know country life when you accept dirty windows as a part of life and the occasional smell from the barn as a sign your efforts are about to be worth it as you stock your freezer with the fruits of your labor. Your city dwelling life lends itself to corporation smoke and the occasional pollution. Your nose sometimes smells exhaust and barbecues, while the only thing that stocks your freezer is what you bought at the grocery stores.

You recognize the country life in the kids who worry more about the type of animal or farm equipment over the city kids who may only recognize the fancy cars and stereos. There can be a greater sense of responsibility for the animals, the crops, and the equipment from the kids on farms that kids in town may not have the opportunity to learn and develop.

The country raised child learns in most houses, that money buys the next piece of equipment, the latest trial of farm animal and the feed to keep the livestock alive. They always seem to see the juggling act that occurs in order to keep everyone, livestock and family included, fed and sheltered. Kids raised in the city tend to see only the struggles of feeding themselves and keeping a roof over their heads.

Country raised kids meet up with the reality that the work they do to raise the livestock can result in the ultimate sacrifice of life on the part of the animal to feed the family. They view the lives of their farm animals as seasons of their own lives. This is not the easiest life lesson to learn. They learn to accept death and loss through their experiences.

City raised kids are not always allowed to make the connection of this cycle of life. Sometimes they never see the sacrifice of the livestock in order to keep food on the table. They miss the understanding of working toward the goal of butchering for the sake of the family. They don't always comprehend dealing with sick animals and choosing which treatment is the most cost effective and when it is time to put the animal down.

The hardest challenge for the country household is to keep the house clean while you maintain the barn, the livestock and the gardens. You begin to accept that slightly dirty floors mean that chores got done outside today. You recognize that everyone should have a front door mat and they should check the bottom of their shoes. Country households make walking through the house without shoes a family rule, rather than constantly trying to keep the floor scrubbed during the muddiest and busiest seasons. Most city households have the no shoes rule because the carpet may get dirty.

There are many comparisons that fit the changes we made when we turned to this simple house out on five acres. We made adjustments to our travel into town for food, milk and every day items. We planned more about our everyday activities because there was more for us to do to keep up with the livestock and the gardens. I learned to allow more messy shoes, boots and outdoor clothes. I learned to laugh when I could overlook chickens tucked under someone's arm carried through the house without batting an eye.

I have managed to become almost organized and capable of doing several loads of laundry in the kitchen because there is no laundry room. I taught the girls the value of hanging clothes on the line and saving energy and money. I have found ways to store fresh vegetables and make meals with fewer store ingredients. We have developed short cuts for most everyday tasks during the busiest of times. We have learned to live comfortably with less and focus more on the end result. We are working to create the appreciation for the journey not just the destination.

The country life has its ups and downs like any other life, but for our family this change to a quieter, more simple life has made each day more complete.