Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Why Michigan?

It's not all that overwhelming for me, apparently, to imagine moving and renovating and having four kids simultaneously, but knowing where to start with all of....this, the story-telling business, has got me in a little bit of a tizzy. I mean "I was born in Los Angeles...." might be a little too far back, but eventually I'll probably have to go there for you to fully appreciate the intricacies of my neuroses. So for now, I'll start with the number one most-often asked question: Why Michigan? Or should I say "Why MIchigan?!?!?", asked in approximately the same tone as you might ask your son why he had just eaten a gigantic pile of dog poo. Frankly, I'm surprised some of them didn't spit after saying the word just to get the foul taste of it out of their mouths. Visions of a frozen tundra besprinkled with tagging-obsessed youngsters, freely gutting stolen vehicles right in front of helpless law enforcement personnel danced in their heads. To them, Mad Max has got nothin' on the-entire-state-of-Michigan, it seems. So before I ramble on about the beautiful change of seasons or the copious spring fed lakes or the thousands (literally) of miles of coastline or our close proximity to excellent universities or the CHEAPEST REAL ESTATE YOU'VE EVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE (oops, sorry. Got a little carried away with that part. Whew...), let me share a few photos of the scenery on and around our property...
the view across the road from our front yard


the roof of our barn and ice covered branches


our road in late summer


a boy and his dog take a stroll


big sister and little brother read under the shade of their maple tree


from our backyard, looking into our woods at sunset


a late-afternoon dip in the clear waters of Gull Lake


the road home

Now, I know that scenery isn't everything, but I gotta tell ya...when the kids are arguing about which episode of Thomas and Friends features which celebrity voice and the dog has eaten your shoe and you discover that there is no insulation in the exterior wall of your kitchen, it sure does help.

10 comments :

  1. Yes, Hi Dwija, awesome and accurate description of the mystery that is MIchigan!!

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  2. What beauty! Now I want to be more rural than I am. Never thought I'd say it, too.

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  3. Yes Dwija! This is exactly how I feel when people give me that look, and then quickly try to hide it, when I tell them we are moving to Poland! I love that you took four kids across the U.S. to live an adventure!

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  4. Your kids get to be kids. That's not something most children will experience today. How fortunate. Maybe after the next kid, I'll be ready to move back to the midwest.

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  5. Michigan is really home-schooler friendly too, Cham. I seem to remember you mentioning something about that maybe? It took us four kids to finally pull the plug, so I totally understand!

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  6. Love the views. The first picture of the front of the house didn't do much for. However, with these pictures I'm understanding why you would buy the house.

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  7. WOW, what a beautiful Property!! I love the picture with the frost on the branches over the barn, and the picture into the woods looks like a nice cool place to take a walk on a warm day. :)

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  8. MI does have cheap realty! We're thinking of picking up on of those two thousand dollar houses in Detroit. For a vacation home. (I kid! I kid!)

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  9. 1. Kate actually did eat a pile of dog poo.. true story. It happened last summer. I'm sure I shared the whole sordid tale with the world...
    2. I think it's fantastic that you all took a leap of faith. You're in a beautiful place, even if it is MIchigan. Kidding... NY gets the same rap. The minute you say you're from NY people jump away as if you might pull a knife and mug them right there. Pft.

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