Wednesday, May 28, 2008

You Can Take the Girl Out of the Country.....

So I grew up in a small town where agricultural things were the norm. Being surrounded by fields, farms, groves and such was just the way things were. I didn't give it a second thought about having horses, cows, sheep, pigs, rabbits, dogs, cats.... Or a garden of all sorts of flowers, every imaginable vegetable and trees that grew pecans, walnuts, lemons, oranges, cherries (hated picking them!), avocados (oh how I wish I would have liked them as a kid!), persimmons, kumquats, pistachios, and more! Most of my friends didn't have that, but it wasn't unusual to them that I did. The chores that came along with it kinda stunk (literally and figuratively....hahaha!), but I guess my sister and I were cheap labor....

I did think it was a bit different, and very cool, that my dad was a large animal vet who's clinic was on the same property as our house. It was a family business and I was exposed to so many awesome experiences. I loved it as a kid, but now I appreciate it so much and ache for my kids to know the life that I had and for them to see their Grandpa in action. It makes me sad that the experiences I had on a daily basis will only be stories that their crazy mama tells them. And that they will get tired of hearing. I hope to somehow let them experience a tiny bit of what is close to my heart.

So I now I live in a bigger town...not a city like LA is a city (YUCK!) but close enough to LA that life here is much different than the town I grew up in. In some ways it's so much better, but there is a part of me that will always be a "country" girl at heart.

All this to say that recently I stumbled upon a web site originally for photography tips, but I found a lady who I can relate to in a way that takes me back to the life I once knew and makes me miss it so much. I spent 2 days doing not much more than reading her web site and cracking up at all the funny things she says and totally just "getting it." I love her! I sorta turned "stockerish" for those 2 days because I could swear we'd be instant, good friends.... sipping coffee and talking non-stop swapping stories.... and I wanted to send her an e-mail to let her know, knowing that she'd be so excited to have found a new friend over the internet.....but then I realized that would probably be kinda creepy of me, so I've backed off a bit. But don't think I don't check out her site once a day! =)

Anyway, it's an awesome site and you should check it out to..... Her name is Ree and she's "The Pioneer Woman."

Did I mention that I love her site?!


7 comments:

summer... said...

hey julie... so hilarious to read. i grew up in a non ag town && now live in an ag town. come up && visit sometime. we will make you feel right at home. todd was riding with some guys the other day && had to stop && wait for the cows to cross the road. the guy at the front ticked them off && they had to ride quickly to avoid any conflict! welcome to slo!

The Parsons' blog said...

That blog is super neat. A friend of mine actually mentioned it and I finally just checked it out... very cool! I might have to add that one to my list!

Anonymous said...

Julie... love your blog and especially love your writing. Thanks for allowing me to be closer to you and the family via your blog.

Mom

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Aaron and Joy Edewards said...

So you can relate to why we moved to Oregon. Aaron, who grew up in the city, is loving the country life. We have a huge garden, pets and lots of room to run. Miss you

DeAnne said...

I was just thinking the other day how different life is than I imagined it would be when I grew up. I always imagined my kids riding calls with Dad when they got old enough...it was such a lifetime ago, and yet it was just yesterday all at the same time. I love the way we grew up. I am thankful for all of the time that you and I got to spend together. We had great adventures! I love you.
Sis