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Driving Down Lonely Roads
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Sunday, June 07, 2009
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I'm just back after a two-day road trip speaking around Ontario. It was a great time, not just speaking, but exploring our province.
Let me tell you about some of the scenes I saw. First, I stopped by this sleepy little town, population 4000, in southwestern Ontario where I was giving a talk at a dinner. I arrived a few hours early, and found a lovely ice cream shop, where I bought a scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough and put hot fudge sauce and smarties on top. After all, my kids weren't with me! Then I walked down to a nearby nature trail, right along a river, and ate it while watching geese with their goslings, swans with their cygnets, and some wonderful blue ducks I've never seen before. Then I decided to go buy another ice cream (it was really good), and did the same thing all over again!
I stayed overnight at a friend's house who lived in the area, and then had to drive 2 1/2 hours the next day northeast, to close to Barrie. Instead of going along the main roads, though, my GPS took me by the lazy roads, which were lined with Amish farms. For once I actually drove slower than the speed limit (I was the only car on the road, so I wasn't bothering anyone behind me), and just watched the Amish kids climb trees, and the men out in the fields, and the women hanging up laundry.
Every now and then I'd drive through a town and spot a few garage sales, or used book sales, and I stopped and picked up a few things. I saw deer farms (really), sheep that had just been sheared, Canada geese hanging out in the fields, deer wandering around the side of the road, and groundhogs running (if you can call it that) in the fields.
There is something about driving through the country that is very peaceful, and gives me this overwhelming urge to go home and clean. Farmers work hard. But they also take pride in their homes and their land, at least most of them do. It's a difficult life, but they tend to be organized and creative and they sure know how to bake!
I think what bothers me is how often I spend a whole day without actually getting anything accomplished. If I spend the day sitting outside reading a book, that's okay. We all need days where we just relax! But sometimes I don't even relax! I just putter. This summer I want to start cleaning out my house from top to bottom, and really making it feel like the kind of home I want.
And then, every so often, I think I'll take a drive in the country, along the back roads. It really does give one inspiration!
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posted @ 10:08 AM
 
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Your post resonated with me today! I grew up in a small village in Northern Ontario... I mean NORTHERN Ontario - a 10 hr. drive from Toronto, 5 hrs North of North Bay... I spent much time over the years driving down quiet highways, watching for moose and black bears in the forest and then as we got further South through the country with farms and deer... Our kids have become good travellers in the car! And I'm with you on the quest to get our house organized this year into a home we all love! It never ends tough!! ;)