Finally got all settled into the new place. The house is about 10 minutes outside of town, but situated on a small hill with a few neighbors close by (there’s a small neighborhood at the bottom of the hill so I’m not as isolated as that sounds). It’s definitely in the “country”. I’m surrounded by open fields, farms and dirt roads. Geez, who would have ever thought I’d love living in the middle of nowhere so much!?
In the past 2 weeks that I’ve lived here, I’ve already fallen into a routine that has been incredibly therapeutic. I wake up early (between 5:30 a.m. – 6:00 a.m.) to the sound of my neighbor’s rooster (seriously!) and a wind charm on the patio that my mom gave me years ago. I stumble to the coffee maker, push the button (I always set it up the night before), go sit on the patio stair and say good morning to the doggies while the coffee brews.
I pour myself a cup of hot, black, Costa Rican awesomeness, sit back outside and watch the sun rise over the hill. It’s been really windy the past week but considering how hot it gets later in the day – the early morning wind is such a pleasure!
At night, I come home from work, get dinner started and again sit on the patio — lights off. It’s incredible how many stars are visible here. Last week I did yoga outside with the full moon directly overhead. Talk about an awesome way to end the day!
Maybe this doesn’t sound all that fabulous to you, but I’ll tell you why it is. First, in town there is a huge mosquito issue. So even though I had a nice patio at the old place, I could never just sit outside because the little bastards would be drunk on my blood within minutes of being outside. So that meant I woke up, was stuck in the house other than a few seconds outside to say hello to the poochies and then right back in the house. Same thing at night. I’d get home, greet the doggies and hurry back inside where I’d be held hostage until the next morning. Not only did I feel cooped up, I felt horrible that my dogs were left so much outside without my company. (I know, I humanize my dogs!). Being able to be outside has really made this new place awesome and getting to spend more time with my doggies is a huge bonus!
As a result of these morning and night-time patio sessions – I’ve realized how long it’s been since I’ve had a private place to sit by myself for a bit and hear myself think. I’ve had some mental clutter going on that I know I haven’t been addressing. Having this time and place to just sit with my own thoughts has really helped me think more clearly about these things – something that was long overdue.
It’s ironic because I was reluctant to leave the old house for years because the rent was affordable and I was a 5 minute walk from work and the beach. So the feeling hostage part of it didn’t really register right away. I was afraid that relocating would be less convenient and rent for something comparable would be higher. Despite that, in November I decided I wanted to move. Fast forward and now I’ve found a much better place where I already feel more at home after 2 weeks than I felt after nearly 4 years at the old place. And bonus!! At a lower rent!
It got me thinking how important it is to listen to that little voice inside you about situations and make decisions, no matter how small or huge they may seem at the moment, that keep you the happiest and most content “YOU” that you can give yourself.
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