Living in the Boondocks

     For the first five years of my life, I lived in a town called Fennville. The entire side of my father’s family lives there and I was constantly surrounded by them. I loved it there. Our house was surrounded by trees and all sorts of wonderful nature.
    
     One of my favorite memories of the Fennville house was a huge willow tree in our backyard on the outskirts of the woods. This tree had a giant rock right underneath it and the branches of the tree created a curtain to block the rock from the outside world. I used to pretend I was Pocahontas and would sit on that rock and tell the tree every one of my four-year-old secrets. I remember thinking this was the coolest place ever because no one could see me from inside the curtain. It was our little place.
    
     When my older sisters started to go to school, my parents realized they disliked Fennville schools. They decided to move. My family packed everything up and moved to Hamilton, a mere fifteen minutes away from Fennville. My parents decided that Hamilton had a better school system. The house my parents bought is in a neighborhood which was completely different than the Fennville house that was surrounded by trees. The Hamilton house only had three trees in our lawn and only one good one for climbing. I thought I was going to hate it.

Hamilton House in Winter

    
     Then, I met the neighborhood kids. I became best friends with a girl two years younger than me. Her name is Cortni. We became inseparable and we had great many adventures. I cannot count the amount of times we slept outside on our trampoline or her lawn chairs just because we were determined to sleep under the stars.
    
     Once we got older, we asked permission from the farmer a few houses down the road if we could play in his fields and woods behind his house. His answer was yes and Cortni and I started a whole new adventure. Every morning in the summer I would wake up, throw some clothes on, pack a backpack of water and snacks, and head over to pick up Cortni so we could start our day in the woods. When we started exploring, we found a creek that went on for miles. We would walk in that creek for as long as we could and wouldn’t turn around until it started getting dark. Those woods had us so entranced that we both wanted to spend all day in them. I even remember a time when we thought we would try spending the night out in the woods. We packed sleeping bags, flashlights, food and water and went out into a clear spot in the woods. We made it until about 10:00 p.m. then made our way back home. The woods change at night.
     
     Then we got older and our adventures stopped. School was more important than having silly ventures out in the woods. We eventually grew apart for which I will always regret. I got a boyfriend and went to college. Now, my boyfriend and I own a house together in Hamilton. Our house is out in the middle of the boondocks. We are surrounded by cornfields, alfalfa fields and woods and I couldn’t be happier. Growing up outdoors and near woods makes me appreciate and respect the marvels of nature. I always want to have the country-living lifestyle. I enjoy being outside and seeing the wildlife right outside my back porch or window. I love where I grew up and wouldn’t change it for the world.

Current House View of Backyard