Happy Granny ~ Dark Granny? or The Bright and Dark Side of Living Small

So, I’m walking into the post office the other day and a
well dressed, lovely elderly lady was walking up the granite steps carefully. I held the door for her. She thanked me and commented about the wonderfully bright sun that was out that day. I agreed and stated that even with a 10* high temp, it was a real treat to see the sun since we live in “The Cloud Belt.” As Happy Granny entered into the 1920’s lobby, another elderly lady was slowly making her way out, so I held the door for her as well. What happened next becomes a study in human nature . . .

That second lady, Dark Granny, had deep furrows in her brow, and overall nasty mug on, stated, “Bah! All that bright sun does is make you think it’s warm outside when you look out the window, and then when you go outside and the cold hits you. . .” She mumbled something unintelligible under her breath and walked down the steps with steam puffs popping out of her mouth. By that time, the original Happy Granny had zipped in, retrieved the mail from her PO box and was on her way back out. She looked at me and said, “Wow, I feel sorry for her. Some people.” I agreed. Then Happy Granny who had to be pushing 80 said, “Well, I have to get back to work. How ’bout you?” I laughed and said something to the effect of “I own my own business so I’m always at work.” Then she looked at me very seriously and said, “Don’t forget to take some time for yourself and appreciate what you have.” Wow! I mean, WOW!

Sue has been known to call me bi-polar over our 29 years together. I’m not clinically diagnosed to that disposition, but have been known to go from grumpy to happy within a day, usually caused by external events ~ he said, blaming others 😉 🙁 . . . Living small can seem sometimes to be a bi-polar lifestyle. There are wonderful parts and not so wonderful parts, although mostly what you see and read about are only the wonderful bits. I don’t call it the dark side of living tiny ~ I call it the realistic side 😉

~ It’s great to be composting and green, but not so great when the pot’s full, and I have to take out a 25lb bucket of compost in the dark, when it’s 5°out and I’m already bathed and in my Jim Jams.
~ It’s great to have lower utility bills than most folks, but they would be way lower if we didn’t need electric heater pipe tape on all the outside pipes and a small electric heater on the water tank in the spring house for the whole winter so they won’t freeze.
~ It’s great to have such a tiny space to keep clean and maintain, but no one can come visit in the winter unless we want to sit nose to nose on the floor. We only have 2 chairs and that pretty much fills up the living room!

Sue and I have lived small for almost 30 years, and soon I will be doing a top ten Best and Worst things we have learned over the 3 decades of hard won experience. Keep an eye out for it. In the meantime, whether you live large or small, in a Huge Mansion or a Shiny Tiny Mansion, take some time to appreciate what you have. Strive to be Happy Granny and keep an eye out for the nefarious Dark Granny within all of us.
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Happy thoughts and Cheers on this sunny and COLD winter day!
Ron