My main observation from this weekend wasn’t about the Fourth of July or patriotism or anything like that.  We drove through some small mountain towns and lots of beautiful mountain non-towns (also known as trees with the occasional house along the road).  It was good.

One of my favorite things about the drive, other than the awesomeness of the mountains, was the mixture of houses along the way.  There were mansions down paths with fancy fences and trailer houses with small garden patches beside them.  And the constant among all of those homes was the view. 

I love that if you live in the country, it doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor.  If you live in the right place, you can look out of your window and see something incredible.  You can be surrounded by mountains or trees or fields.  You can step into a peaceful spot from any home that happens to be yours.

I know that doesn’t help if you’re having a hard time paying bills or taking care of your family.  I know it doesn’t help if you don’t have any free time to enjoy the view.  But it kind of does, don’t you think?

I think your life has to be better with that view than without it.  You can get numb to the good things in your life, but when beauty is staring at you every time you go outside, it’s difficult to ignore.  Maybe that’s just me.  I’m a sucker for mountains and trees and fields.  (I also enjoy the trees on my street every time I drive home.  It’s a tiny piece of the country right in front of my house.)

And then the drive was over, and it was back to life.  My new job started today.  I like it.  I like it a lot.  I’m just tired.  I didn’t expect reading and studying and meeting people to be that tiring.  It really was a good first day of work though.

In honor of that, I’m about to call it a night.  Hello, old age.  It’s time to go to bed at 9:28 P.M.