It seems counterintuitive in a state filled with Buick-sized insects and weapons-grade mold, but so far, life here in the Sunshine State is practically antiseptic.
Unlike our 50 year-old house back home, with the on-going war with mice in the basement, here we're sealed off from encroaching reality. Anonymous men appear outside on a regular basis and spray our building to beat back nature, and the central air silently dehumidifies away any lurking mildew.
Our evening walks are on freshly swept sidewalks under groomed palm trees, and the only wildlife we see is the resident bunny, who so far has managed to dodge the rumored alligator in our pond.
If our building were a person, it would just be starting solids and learning to stand. It hasn't even been around long enough to accumulate dust over the door jambs. In contrast, our Bay State house has bathroom linoleum beginning to curl at the edges and windowsills still scarred from the previous owner's dog, Sparky.
Here, emptying the garbage only requires a brief walk holding our one little white bag from the front door to the artfully concealed communal dumpster near our garage. At home, we gather a week's worth in big black bags so we can transport it in our car to the town waste disposal area, aka the dump.
We're also unburdened by the flotsam and jetsam we accumulated over 47 years of marriage. Here we have just what we need for day-to-day living. Four plates, two sets of sheets, one laundry basket. It's remarkable how restful clear surfaces can be to the eye, not a tchotchke in sight, no need to move this to get to that.
I think I'll go make tea now in our one mug and try not to think of the piles of leaves on the lawn at home awaiting our return at the end of this week.
sounds too sterile for me.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of being in college in the sixties. People were paid to do so much for us. My friend would throw her trash on the ground, to the horror of my Midwestern soul. "They pay people to pick it up. Keeps the economy moving," Lynn explained.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting what the climate dictates in different parts of the country. Family living in apartment in Houston, TX regularly have to prepare kitchen for someone to come in and spray for bugs. Here in the Portland area of Oregon I seldom see bugs and in 12 years have never had anyone come to spray for bugs.
ReplyDeleteWell you seem to have found balance living partime in the Yin and Yang of your life. I could live in the clear and clean...but only for a few weeks and then I want all the animals, and leaves and demands of real life.
ReplyDeleteWow. It sounds almost incomprehensible to me.
ReplyDeleteAnd our dust has dust.
Okay, La La land sounds great. But what's going to happen back home? I'll bet you'll just love the old place to bits.
ReplyDeleteSimplicity, new and shiny can be refreshing and is a plus for the snow birder. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of downsizing. We have lived that way for ages, but still things accumulate. You've inspired me to do a purge! :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to have set at least one person down that path. There's no hope at all for us at home. Whenever I mark something as a possible Goodwill item, my husband finds a use for it.
DeleteClear surfaces certainly are restful to the eye, I'm a big fan of them myself. I just don't have any :(
ReplyDeleteMy own fault of course.
When I used to visit my grandmother in Washington, D.C., I loved the clutter and dust of her old house. But by the end of two weeks, I was ready to go back to sunny, new Florida. So I get the difference -- believe me!
ReplyDeleteParallel lives - here I am down the road from where you grew up in Florida, and you were visiting your grandmother in D.C., just over the Potomac from my hometown of Arlington.
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