I have been back home now for almost 2 months. Sometimes I feel like I never left. Everything is still the same. Other times, I am haunted by my lack of experiencing the life here while I was gone.
My friends and I have become very different. Most are mothers, or wanting to be. I doubt I have a biological clock. While I enjoy my free time, they have to schedule everything around the babies. They're concerned with decorating their homes and knitting and waiting for their men to come home. I feel like we are generations apart. I'm not a hardcore feminist, but I refuse the idea of needing a man to "complete me". Love is about mutual respect, not about reinforcing old gender roles. If I had a house, I'd probably go nuts over nesting, too. But my husband and I are adventurous people, and we like to not know where we will be next year. We live in the moment, and are happy with what we have. Of course, we don't have a lot of money. But in a way it's liberating. We don't have to feel we need the latest flatscreen TVs, cars or the brightest flowers outside our crib.
One of the hardest transistions with the move... is trying to fit into this whole different mindset. From living in a city I am now in the country. Everybody has their nose into other people' businesses, and long live the gossip. Catching up over an impromptu glass of wine has changed to listening to babytalk over coffee. Nobody goes out to eat - most people cook at home. Meeting friends for a drink on a rainy Tuesday? Heavens, no. Drinking takes place on the weekends. If I suggest we gather to enjoy a few beer, I get frowned at.
I also feel like everybody has a need to "fit in". I miss diversity and daring to be different. Try to think outside the box!
Most people drink tons of coffee, hikes in the mountains, boils potatoes every day for dinner, complains about people that look different, competes about having the nicest house or the newest car...etc. I am starting to realise what made me want to leave in the first place.
But for now... I am going to enjoy a nice cold glass of Pinot Grigio, read a book and tell my husband to make me a nice meal. :P
