This is how a blog gets written in my house. I walk into a room and I see an uncapped marker lying on the floor. I search around for the cap and my mind begins to wander. What have I done wrong in raising my children that they treat everything we own as disposable property? Our home, their toys, my personal things… none of it means anything to them. Because they have it all.

Would it be possible to raise them with more respect and appreciation if perhaps we just moved to a new, smaller town and left all of our “things” behind? And then I find myself running with this idea for a while. What would be the pros and cons of moving away from the city, away from our luxuries?Pro: In a small town the children could still run and play in the streets. There would be other children close and available and playdates would be a thing of the past.

Con: Children, my own and others would be running in and out of my house at random intervals.

Pro: In a small town we would know everyone in our neighborhood and we could rest easy in the knowledge that our children were being raised and watched by a community that knew them and cared.

Con: If we had any reason to dislike a neighbor they would be harder to ignore.

Pro: The children would not need so many “things” if there were kickball games, bikes to be ridden and swings to be swung with friends on both sides of the street.

Con: Would I myself be able to make friends so easily with people who were used to a slower pace of life?

Pro: When you know everyone in your neighborhood, it is easier to watch out for someone who might be out-of-place. A stranger would get noticed and flags would go up early.

Con: Small townsfolk are known for being gossipy. Could I handle being talked about all over town?

Pro: Less use of computers and decreased fear of the online predators that frighten this generation of parents.

Con: I love my Mac.

Pro: We could all benefit from a slower pace.

Con: But could we handle it long term.

Pro: Life could be like how I always imagined it would have been in Maybury.

Con: Maybury never actually existed.

I grew up in Mesa. My mother grew up in Mesa before me, and her mother the majority of her life before her. For us, Mesa WAS our Maybury. We knew our neighbors and our neighbors knew us. We played in the street and we travelled around town without fear. But we all know that place is gone.

Now I’m just left wondering how far North I’d have to move in order to find 1982 again.