A country girl

I’m a country girl stuck in the city

I was born in the city, but as soon as I moved to the country as a young girl,

I loved it.

It felt like home.

In the country I learned how to make things

The value of making things with what I could find

I learned how to make do

Now I’m a city girl again,

These days you’ll find me in the garden store

Chuckling to myself about the absurdity of buying cow poo in bags

Who am I?

I’m the mum who doesn’t look old enough to have a 12 year old

But I am- and I was married 2 years before that

I’m the wife whose husband has a disability

Yet he is a successful employee, Father and husband

I’m the wife whose husband has a PHD yet doesn’t earn enough to save for a house

But we are so thankful for what we have

Because we know what it is to not have enough

I’m the wife whose husband demands little of me

Yet appreciates everything I do

He doesn’t mind if I don’t earn very much

I’m the one who works hard to create community

Yet often feels out of place

I’m the one who invites, far more often than I’m invited

I’m the one who needs more solitude

Than most would find tolerable

I’m the one who needs more connection

Than I ever manage to find

I’m the one who sees opportunity

Where others see a dead end

I’m the one who sees potential

Where others see junk

I’m the one who can be a voice

For those who struggle to speak

Should I not speak for fear of speaking wrongly?