City Mouse-Country Mouse

It’s no secret that I’m not happy with our living situation. And this was the case long before Charlie came along.

I bought my condo when I was in school and never expected to stay longer than 3 maybe 4 years in it. Well it’s been 11.

We have two dogs in our condo. I have always been a believer in that dogs need a yard. They do not belong in apartments. Well unfortunately Adam didn’t share these values and when we got married…the dogs moved in. But they’re used it having lived in apartments for most of their lives.

I grew up in a house that had 4 acres of woods to play in. I played outside a lot. I went for walks and climbed trees and played on my swing set and in the sand box. I ran circles around the house with my dog Ginger.

It’s probably no surprise that I want the same for Charlie. I want her to be able to go outside and play. And recently she wants the same thing and the other day she asked for it.

“Pay Ousigh? Pay Ousigh” As she motioned toward the door my heart about broke in two. There really is no place for us to go out and play at our complex and it’s 5 million degrees outside.  And I was tired and not feeling good. But I looked at her sweet face and rallied.

“Ok, I said “let’s go. Let’s go see the fishes at the aquarium” (bad choice of words…note to self don’t say fishes unless you have goldfish to provide)

So I loaded up my girl and headed to the air conditioned aquarium that is free in the month of September for Zoo members. She loved it . She ran from tank to tank, oo’d and ah’d and I enjoyed watching her explore the beauty of the oceans.

When we got home and were headed up the stairs to our condo I looked my happy girl and thought: You know, there are benefits to being a city mouse. I may not have acres of grass and woods for her to play in, but I can take her to an aquarium, a top rated zoo, multiple children's museums, splash parks and city parks any day I want. Growing up I only got to do those things on family vacation or class trips. They were BIG deals. The things I took for granted growing up (and wanted to get away from) are the things she’ll look forward too and what she takes for granted will be what some children only get to do once a year. Heck I could take her to Disney World every weekend (if I fell on my head and knocked my brain loose!)

So yes, I may long for the childhood I had for her, but I have to realize that what she’s getting is what I dreamed for as a little girl.

Hopefully someday I’ll get to give her a yard to run in, but in the mean time the city of Tampa will be our playground and it’s a pretty cool one!