Progress....

Today was bone density scan day and it was the easiest medical day ever. Now we wait for results. I was done in about ten minutes so I was off to other destinations and points.

Last night I was at a friends home for homemade banana ice cream. They had invited others to join in the fun so it was a lovely evening out on the porch as we solved world problems and then discussed health issues to the point that we became old people we were so enthralled with our discussions. Nah, we stayed young minded, but just barely. One of the things we talked about was going back in time to live a simpler life. I think I might have been the only dissenter because you really can't go back and it wasn't simpler back then either. Really, like I once read on a Beth Moore blog, her grandmother told her she liked the modern days. Life was hard, with less time helping appliances and scratching out a living....well, it was just dang hard. I think I agree with Beth's grandmother. Really, I would be dead maybe several times over because I have been privileged to experience modern day medicine that changed my life course. Life might have been simpler because it took a lot out of one, which means there is little energy left for fun or getting into trouble. When you think about how long it took to wash clothes or to fix a meal or to build a house...it wasn't simpler at all. Compared to Houston life here is simpler for many reasons. One is living in an area that isn't as populated makes things a lot easier. The pace of life is slower and even then it isn't all that easy to enjoy. Six weeks with this tooth thing just floored me cause I knew if I was in Houston I would have been squeezed in for an appointment to remedy the problem. It was hard not to think about that but then the end result is more satisfying that having a temporary crown glued on but having a tooth "built" to handle the load as we wait for the nerve to make the curve. Life is simpler in that produce grown locally is so much easier to obtain and this girl loves a good produce stand. Farm to Table restaurants aren't just fancy places but mom and pop places that have been in business for decades. Yep, it is a change for this freeway driving girl to be on the back roads and those roads have been built without any shoulder or extra room. If a big truck is coming toward you, you are hugging the side of the road for dear life. Out here in the country there are very few if any bike lanes. The roads are yellow double stripes and just this year it is legal to pass a bicyclist to ease around them. A tractor may slow you down but it doesn't really make you mad. The scenery is filled with so much to behold. The colors along the roads are in a changing time, from the white blossoms of the wild blackberries to the pink rambling wild roses that now cover culverts and line the road.

Sadly, I think progress is happening across the road. The herd of cows has been getting smaller by the week and I just looked out across to not find any cows out in the pasture. There is a bulldozer up on the hill and it has cleared out some of the trees and is smoothing out the ground. This probably means houses will be starting to be built soon enough. That has been happening farther up the road and while the economy is good here, people are taking advantage. I have suspected this change of events would happen but I was hoping it wouldn't be this quick.
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After I wrote the last paragraph I drove around to see if the cows were truly gone. It looked to be true. When I got back my neighbor was over at her mom's and we hadn't had a chance to visit since I returned from Texas. We talked about what could be happening across the street and she came over to look at the porch. They are thinking about doing something to their back porch. When I came inside and then looked out the front window, there were still a few cows. A truck pulled up near the barn and put feed in the feed troughs and those cows came running. It was not the usual guy I have seen there the past few years. This caused me to do some research last night on land around the area. There are three planned communities, one close to the river, one down the way (expensive home and lots in a gated community) and one more in Leicester. With the widening of the highway, you knew this would be coming. For fun I looked at houses for sale in Madison County and when I told Roy this morning I had found one I really liked, he said to me what he always says when I have expensive ideas, get a job....get a good job."

Well, the day is moving on just like progress in the country. Hopefully, it won't go fast but if it does I will still enjoy the life here even with new neighbors. Face it, it is hard to replace as good of neighbors as those cows have been.