Monday, August 20, 2007

Note from The Editor

The fact that this weeks issue is a week late is a fine tribute to this week’s theme: Differences.

The differences between where I used to live and where I live now are huge and yet the longer I live here the less I notice them, until that is, something like a tree falling in the forest and knocking out the power and internet connection to the whole village happens.

My first reaction was one of horror. Whilst everyone else around me merely sighed, shrugged and changed their plans for the day, I was outraged.

“What do you mean the power won’t be back on until the evening? Don’t you realise I have things I need to be doing?!” Hours later, when the electricity came back on but the internet connection was still not working, I was even more outraged. Somehow being able to turn on the computer and not be able to use the internet was infinitely worse than not being able to turn it on at all.

After an hour of pacing around the house, sighing deeply, clicking the firefox icon, sighing, closing it and continuing pacing,

pace,
sigh,
click click,
sigh,
click,
sigh,
pace;

I had finally driven The Farmer nuts and I could tell from the look in his eye that I was in trouble.

When he yelled through the window for me to come outside I did so grudgingly, dragging my feet like a sulking school girl. He gave me a pair of wellies, a couple of buckets and
sent me off to the bottom of the garden with strict instructions not to come back into the house until they were both full.

Four hours later I staggered home; back aching, arms bleeding, red sticky fingers clutching full buckets of strawberries and a deep sense of peace and tranquillity radiating from within.

Bemoaning the differences between here and there is all very well, but one must not forget that differences can also be good.

When the internet failed to work the next morning I simply shrugged and changed my plans and when it finally came back on line yesterday, after a week of berry picking, jam making and other rural housewife type activities the feeling was a strange mix of joy and disappointment.


Our Editor, The Farmers wife, can also be found at her blog Running in Wellies.


2 comments:

Maude Lynn said...

My internet was down recently, and I did the same "pace, click, pace, click" thing. As if I could help it along! Infuriating.

The Farmers Wife said...

isn't it just. I highly recommend berry picking as a much healthier alternative to the pace-click-pace thing.

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