Wednesday, August 29, 2007

I love where I live

Can I just tell you how much I love living in Melbourne? I love our neighborhood (although not necessarily all the neighbors!). I love our house.
I love the fact that several times a day and especially at night when things are settling down and getting quiet I can hear the train that runs very close to us. It's not a loud intrusive noise but a quiet calming moment in time. You almost have to stop and listen to hear it but there is something so nice and soothing about it.
I love that my kids take the school bus from just a few doors down and in the morning a group of us moms meet there too and get some time to just chat. I love that while it's not a gated community it's not a thru street either. You have to turn into the neighborhood and there is only one way in and one way out. It's really just 4 or 5 blocks with a nice lake (fountain included) right in the middle.
I love passing by this lake on my way in. It always looks so nice and peaceful. They say there is a possibility of alligators in the lake and have signs warning of this but hey, it's Florida. If there is water, there are probably alligators although we've never seen one in there. What we do have living just off the lake is a family of Sand Hill Cranes~ 3 of them. They sometimes wander the neighborhood but mostly they sit right in front of the lake as if to greet all the residents home.



I love the little neighborhood park that is just 3 doors down from us with the swings and basketball court and the gazebo with benches. I love that several times a year the home owners association throws a party at the park so all the neighbors can get to know each other. I've heard tell that even Santa comes to the park at Christmastime. I love that all the neighbors say "hello" as you come and go or just wave as your car passes by. I love that my kids feel safe and that I feel they are safe too. I just found out today that we have a bobcat and her two cubs living in the brush between the park and the railroad tracks. Richard has even seen a little fox while taking Sadie out for a walk. I love being so close to these little creatures.
I love that I can get to the beach in 10 minutes. I love love love that I can see the space shuttles lifting off from here. I went out to the beach for the last one and everyone on the beach counted down the last 10 seconds and cheered when it went up. It made us all feel a part of something very special. I was amazed at the sound of the shuttle coming back in too. Sounds like something has crashed into your house ~ but once you realize what it is, it's cool to know that the shuttle has come home safely.
I love that my kids made friends the first day in the neighborhood and that sometimes they are all in here playing together and I really love when they are all over at someone else's house playing even more. I love that the zoo is just down the street and that you can take canoe trips right from there.
I love that there are at least a half dozen quilt shops within a 15 minute drive from me and I really love that I'm not teaching at any of them just yet and hope to get a lot of "my" projects done before I get back into teaching. I love that although we've only lived here for two months we've had oodles and oodles of company including Nathaniel's birth mom (Hey Angie ~ how's your mommanthem?), my bestest friend and evil twin Maryann and her daughter Hannah (who may never come back after what I put her thru), my dearest mother in law (who can now just come up for lunch any time she wants) and my (not so baby girl) Jennifer and hubster Jeremy who came up for a few days before leaving for a year in Alabama to get their master's degrees.
I love that I am finally getting the boxes unpacked and things put into their proper places. I love the rounded curved walls painted wonderful muted colors in this house. I love all the ceiling fans that keep our house nice and cool and our electric bills fairly low. I love the refrigerator that has filtered ice and water in the door (unlike the last one we had...) and the oven that actually has a temperature control and I can bake again.
I love the ribbon curtain that Julianne and I made for her room a couple of weeks ago and that she is finally getting over the whole "Cheetah bedroom" thing.

Mostly I love that I have a wonderful network of family and friends and that even though we may live far apart ~ I can still tell you all about my day and ask "So, how was your day?"

1 comment:

Ginky said...

I love where you live too. It's just a nice and comfortable drive, old car not withstanding, enough time to think not long enough to get maudlin.
I too love seeing the cranes, they tell me how close I am to all of you. They are so beautiful and regal. I am looking forward to pestering all of you often, until I am banned!! It is so refreshing to see a house that is not a combo of little boxes with no imagination. I really like to see the sun setting in your living room, what a wonderful idea. You'll always know when the sun is below the yardarm and it's time to salute the evening. Salud, mi familia, hasta la proxima! yM ((((()))))