Honey, I Need Space

L with a ball, July 4th

Evenings like tonight remind me why I can never truly be a city girl. I need space. It doesn’t have to be a lot – tonight we made do with the parking area in back of the duplex where we live, throwing a ball around and playing Chase the Toddler. I need room to let my son run around and play, and I need to be able to sit outside on a blanket or a chair when the weather is nice. I also want (but I suppose I don’t need) to be able to hang my laundry outside on warm, sunny days.

These are things you can’t easily find in the city – particularly in larger cities. We live in the city now, and the entirety of our “backyard” could just about fit in our living room. The house we were going to buy had over an acre and a half of yard, along with a good-sized deck to play on. It was in the suburbs – far enough out, in fact, that it might have been considered an exurb.

And now we’re considering an even bigger move. Possibly to (or near) an even bigger city. And I am reminded, while playing catch with my husband like we used to do when we were in college, that I need space.

I am an exurb/suburb/country girl at heart.