City/Country Living

Everybody that knows me knows that I’m a city girl. I embrace city living basically because I grew up in that environment. There was no shortage of activity in “the big city” – New York – where the lights can blind you in Times Square and the hustle and bustle makes you feel alive and excited to explore. City living is where you can get lost in the crowd – where nobody knows who you are unless you want them to. You can pretty much be whoever you want without fear of ridicule – without people giving you funny looks because there is always someone else that looks even more ridiculous than you. There’s a certain anonymity that is comforting. I suspect that when my parents arrived in New York many years ago from the small town living in Due West and Orangeburg, SC, respectively, that they were enamored with all the activity – all the possibilities that awaited them. Of course, there are drawbacks to city living – and especially New York City living. When I tell people that I’m from NY they often ask about all the touristy attractions and the “night life”, but growing up poor in NY is a whole different experience. The thing that became most apparent to me as I grew up was just how crowded it was there. Too many people in a small space – no room to breathe, no place to think – too much activity. Our little project apartment was very small and proceeded to get smaller each year I lived there. It was a two-bedroom apartment I shared with my mom and dad, sister and brother and later on it included my sister, her husband and two kids as well – not to mention the roaches that invaded even that small space. I guess it’s just something you get used to. NY is an old city and therefore they have an infestation of roaches and mice who seem to live on forever no matter what you do. We all learned to combat them as best we could. My mother used to take us “south” when we were young to visit her mother and siblings in South Carolina. Life there was very different which brought on a new set of challenges. Challenges like dealing with an “out house”, not having running water, all kinds of creepy crawly things that used to invade our space. It’s a wonder I grew up sane with all the stress I was under as a child.

Moving to Maryland seemed to be the best of both worlds.  I live close enough to the city and yet I retreat to my little house in the suburbs. At least in my house there are no mice or roaches!! I still haven’t adjusted to working in the yard with the bugs that often I can’t even name. And in addition to the ants, spiders, wasps, “stink bugs” and crickets, I can, on just about any given evening, just as the sun is going down, look out back and see a deer or two. In fact, one evening I looked out the front and right across the street in an open field were two baby deer playing. They were chasing each other.  I was getting pretty good at this “country” living, after all I had even survived the spring of the cicadas!!!!! One afternoon I looked out in the front and there in the street was a dead something or other and two giant buzzards were feasting on the roadkill right in front of the house. I couldn’t believe how big they were!!!!

Out of all three of my children, the one who is the most “citified” is Nayda. She’s the one who at one point sat in her room looking out the window at the rest of us pulling weeds. She was content to bring us water, and whatever other supplies we needed as long as she didn’t have to get involved in the actual gardening.

One night her and I were in my room watching TV and I was doing the laundry. She proceeded to the kitchen to get a snack.  All of a sudden the loudest piercing toe curling scream came from the kitchen “MOMMY!!!!” I dropped everything and went running. Now don’t get me wrong, she has screamed for me to kill wasps and spiders, but this scream was much more urgent. When I arrived in the kitchen, she was standing on top of the dining room table screaming “IT’S A SNAKE!!!!”  OMG – I knew I was going to pass out. In my mind I yelled “WTF!!! I DON’T DO SNAKES, DAMMIT! That’s where I draw the line.” I snatched the broom, determined to find him, and proceeded to search around the parameter of the kitchen.  Low and behold, out he slithered. He was about 3-4 feet long, black and quite menacing to a little ole city girl like me.  In my eyes he was a 25-foot anaconda!!! I immediately took the broom and trapped him as he squiggled and squirmed, trying to get free. I was holding him so tight that I couldn’t even feel my arms. Meanwhile I was trying to get Nayda to get down off of the table to help me. I needed her to get the back door open to the deck so I could possibly get him outside. She made it down as far as the chair, still screaming. Finally, I was able to get her to come down and open the storm door and then the screen door as I continued holding him. I dragged him over to the door and when I got close enough, with one big giant sweep, I got him outside.  I then ran out behind him and swept him off the deck down into the back woods. When I got back inside the house every muscle in my body was hurting. I was breathing so heavy and sweating up a storm. I’ll tell you, if I were a drinker, that night I would have had not just one, but TWO, tall stiff drinks!! Instead I just fell over onto the bed and laid down for about an hour – just to recover. I even considered calling the paramedics! Both Nayda and I were completely traumatized!!! That night I dreamed about all the wonderful things about living in the city.  I woke up rethinking that whole idea of city living. Maybe city living is not so bad after all because that snake almost killed me!!!