THE LOST COOKIE-WOMAN

(Picture courtesy of Readers Digest Cookie Book)
Did I tell you that I’ve lost my cookie-woman? I blogged about her delivering all those homemade goodies just before Christmas last year; the new neighbour who wasn’t quite sure why her family had moved here – other than it was her husband’s idea. A spur-of-the-moment thing; a pipedream; a decision made without considering what an enormous change it would be for his teenage sons, his little daughter who was unwilling to transfer to a new school in mid-term, and his wife who would now have to travel nearly 2 hours each way to her job. A ‘citified’ group whose experience in the country consisted of a couple of holiday weekends spent at a cousin’s house, where a good time was had by all, but not enough time to absorb the total difference in country living. Besides, the dude went a step further and bought his house out in the BUSH!

Newsflash, sir! There is no public transport here. You need to drive yourself over snowy, slippery roads for at least 20 minutes if you forget that pint of milk. And you thought your children’s pet kitten would enjoy a stroll in the country air? Another wrong decision. There are wild animals to beware of, and hawks….

Running water is YOUR responsibility; the city has nothing to do with it. Your garbage had better be locked away, because bush animals WILL spread it all over the yard, over and over again. Red pepper is not a deterrent; they’ve seen worse. Black flies? Well no, I’ve never heard of any product to get rid of them. One gets used to it, or stays indoors, and you wear long sleeved shirts during that season no matter how nice the weather is.

When the electricity fails (often – tree branches on the wires, etc.), the areas with higher population get repairs first; being isolated as you are now means your house is last on the list, so you wait…and wait…and wait. Yes, generators are an expensive and noisy option.

High speed internet needed to download games and the films your sons live for? Sorry, not available. That could be part of the reason why the boys now spend most of the time at their friends’ places in town.

One more thing – people living in the bush are there because they actually like being solitary. We don’t hang out in each other’s houses everyday; very little chitchat goes on; and there is no telling each other’s life story at the drop of a hat.

And certainly, when checking out the place before buying it, you noticed that the numerous dogs were running loose? And you thought what? That they would be tied once you moved in??? By the way, here in the Bush, if you have a problem with a neighbour, you first go see that person to talk it out. You do NOT write letters of complaint to the municipal authorities, and you do NOT call the police unless all else fails.

Does the above sound mean-spirited? Unfortunately, it’s just the simple truth. The man did not use Kilroy’s TTT method (Think Things Through), and everyone in his entourage was paying for it. Fortunately, none of the above involved me directly. I heard about it off and on from my other neighbours. I was only aware of their leaving after seeing the ‘For Sale’ sign on the property, and that happened nearly a month after they had already gone. At one point, during their stay here, my agency offered the wife a job in this area, but she refused. I guess she was already working on moving back to the city. On the rare occasions that I did see her, each time by the central mailbox, she seemed to have lost her smile. I got the impression that her family was falling apart, and she didn’t like it. I had finally met her husband and hadn’t been impressed. Too buddy-buddy for me.

I’m happy for my cookie-woman. I’ll bet that she is thankful to be back in familiar territory. I’ll remember her this Christmas; delivering her cookie tins was a nice gesture, and her shortbread melted in your mouth! I guess I’ll have to make my own this year. That’s okay. I enjoy baking, and I’ll be thinking of her, certain that she is SMILING now, as she prepares little cookie tins for her new neighbours….

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.