changes

I feel like we're living inside of a postcard...or maybe a snow globe, except in this case it would be a sand globe. Like we're leading a hermetically-sealed existence. Those on the outside look at where we live and say, "Oh, isn't it pretty?" Except nothing exciting ever happens to us here--nothing inspiring. Every once in a great while, we get 'shook up,' but then the sand quickly settles and we're left sitting (frozen) in our postcard setting.

Last weekend we stopped in at K-Mart to pick up a few things, and as we passed the sporting good aisles we found ourselves drawn to the shelves holding the (boxed) tents. And we started oohing and aahing over various tents. We can't wait to go camping when we get back to the States. And we're no adventuring outdoor types, but we do like the occasional camping trip. We started laughing and saying, "Screw renting a house--maybe we should just live in a tent!" :) (It really takes very little to make us happy.)

I think what we're yearning for is variety--of landscape and daily activities and social experiences and cultural stimulation. We always perk up a bit when we have visitors because we can view our setting through others' eyes, and it is a beautiful place. But complacency and boredom set in long ago, not to mention the feelings of isolation and loneliness and outsider status.

So we're ready to go. We're ready to take a hammer to this pretty souvenir sand globe we've sealed ourselves in and smash it to smithereens. Some think we're foolish to leave 'paradise'...we feel we have no choice.