The Life We've Chosen

It has occurred to us that what we are doing here isn't for everyone.  Many people get to this stage of life and look for things to be easier; they want to relax and enjoy the benefits of years of hard work. 

But we have chosen something different and we comment at least once a day that we love our life here.  I reflected this week about some of the differences between our old life and what our days are like now.  

I used to stumble to the kitchen, pop a coffee pod into the espresso machine and push a button to get a perfect cup of espresso each morning.  Now I fill the stove top espresso pot with water from the filter, carefully spoon the coffee into the basket, screw on the top chamber, turn on the gas burner, and wait...I watch the weather and if it is going to be sunny, I put a load of laundry in first thing so that it will have time to dry on the line before the sun sets. We have a septic tank and, like most people in Spain, we don't flush toilet paper - now, even in a public restroom, I carefully put the used tissue into the appropriate can.  Every time we go down the mountain we collect all the garbage and take it to the dumpster located next to the Ermita del Padre Eterno. In our old life we were always in a hurry to get someplace; now we think nothing of turning off the car and waiting for the herd of sheep or goats to make their way along the road.  Before, we could flip a switch and hot air would come from vents throughout the house; now we take turns lighting the wood stove and then feeding it throughout the day and evening.  

It all takes more time, but it just doesn't matter.  Like we say to each other, "what else do we have to do?"

This week I recovered from my illness and Sam took his turn with the coughing and sneezing; as of today we both seem to be on the mend.  On Monday I needed some sunshine after several gloomy days. Sam was just beginning to get sick, but he was willing to take a drive.  We ended up at the coast in the town of Salobreña.  We walked along the beach and then stopped for a delicious seafood paella. 

Paella

It was a beautiful day and there were few people around. The sun shimmered on the Mediterranean and we marveled at how different the climate is only a few miles from our mountain home. Flowers are in bloom everywhere and the orange trees are loaded with colorful fruit; soon we will be able to buy huge sacks of fresh oranges for only 2 euros from old men along the road.

Sun on the Mediterranean

Felipe stopped by one morning - he and a friend were driving up the mountain to do some cross country skiing and he had forgotten his poles so he stopped to borrow ours.  We were so pleased that he thought to come and ask if he could use them.  Later Sam was working on some leaks in the water system when Felipe returned and jumped out of the truck to help out.  We love the easy give and take that people have here.  It is hard for us to ask for help, but we are learning from the example of a more open and trusting culture.

Felipe and friend assisting Sam with the water issue

Today Sam wanted to do some fence repair.  We pulled on our boots and when to the bottom part of our property.  The hillside is steep and when you are down there you would never guess that there is a house just over the lip of the hill.  The neighbor's horses have reached across the fence because even Spanish horses believe that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.  But as a result there are places where the fence has been pushed down and so Sam pulled and stapled and added rebar posts.  I was nearby to hold or hand things as needed.  As we worked we could hear the church bells in the villages across the way and after awhile Jesus brought his flock into the neighboring field and we enjoyed the clanging sheep and goat bells.  Fence mending is hard work, but with the view and the auditory atmosphere, it didn't really feel like work.

Happy worker-man

Pounding in rebar posts

Fence repair with a view

Jesus lives a solitary life as a shepherd.  In the summer he is high up in the mountains with his herd, but in the winter he is back down here and he is our nearest neighbor.  He has a reputation, but we aren't really sure what that reputation is.  So we have decided to go out of our way to be friendly.  At first we just waved when we passed him on the road but then one day we stopped and introduced ourselves. This week I made banana bread and Manuel delivered it to Jesus.  He has numerous dogs and they aggressively protect his flock, so I did not want to try and deliver it myself, but Manuel knows him and was happy to take it for me. In the evenings when the sun is setting and the temperature drops, we are cozy in our house and we can hear the bells as the flock returns to the barn; I think of how cold and lonely it must be to be a shepherd and I will continue to look for ways to show kindness to Jesus.

We are worried about the political situation in the States; from our perspective it has gone from crazy to disastrous.  I wake with a jolt of anxiety in the night and then resent that this has been allowed to happen.  But our days have a gentle rhythm, and we try to stay present, not letting the situation "at home" steal any of the simple joy that awaits us here and now.

And always, there is the view.....