The grass is always greener...

I'm sure that we have all heard this expression many times in our lives. The difference with me is that I have tended to THINK that way many times. Growing up in a remote area of Maine, I always wanted to move somewhere where there was a lot going on etc... So after graduation from high school, I did just that and moved to Indiana. I enjoyed my stay there, made alot of friends and played alot of softball.

Now that I had moved away, I began to realize that I missed the outdoor activites ie.. hiking, skiing, snowshoeing etc... I missed hiking by moonlight and hearing the crickets churp me to sleep. So with a job in place, I moved back to Maine. Long story made short... I have made this trip back and forth a couple of times.

Over the course of this past fall and early winter, I began to have those thoughts again. I could reason with myself this time, the economy is very bad and even in a good economy it is difficult to make a living here. I started looking online for possible sights, northern Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin... somewhere where I could stay in the cycling industry and live close to the mountains.  Where would I look? Would I move to a warmer climate and be able to cycle easily year round? Would I want to live where there is a change of seasons? Somehow those thoughts of snowshoeing under a fullmoon, and listening to the crickets kept reappearing in my mind.

Fast forward to yesterday and a xc ski trip with a coworker. I hadn't been on xc ski's in years, so I was a bit nervous but excited to get outside and explore. AS you know we haven't had a lot of snow in Maine this winter, so we were going to explore and see what we could find. It was a wonderful day, great to be on ski's again, but even more importantly I realized a couple of things. First is that I could  live in a less remote area; but the question that popped up for me is this. Would I want to live closer to certain things and travel to "play" outdoors OR would I want to travel to shop? That answer is quite clear to me... I would definitely be more than willing to travel to shop rather than to play. The area that I live is an outdoor paradise, but one where I also need to drive 25 minutes to the closest grocery store, bank, etc.. Secondly, the trip yesterday reminded me that every time I get into this mindset, I should  simply go outside and play. That in itself, will remind me why I  want to continue to live in the great state of Maine.