Moving can be a bit of a culture shock when you move to a different area or a different setting. For us, we moved from the rural country to, at the very least, a much more suburban area. from a single home with 1.25 acres, to a town home with no grass to call our own.
One would believe we would suffer a bit of culture shock. However, in almost 11 years of marriage, we have lived in 7 places. We are quite use to adapting to our surroundings.
I was talking to a (almost 10 year old) girl who asked the kids to come out and play. I said we “moved from the country” and she asked “What country?” I still smile to think of it. I wonder what exotic country she thought we were coming from. I had to explain what I meant and she was astounded at the thought of our very own yard.
She then asked if we had pets and of course our kids had to tell her about the cat we can’t keep. Again, to her, the thought of an outdoor cat was ludicrous. Just mentioning that we weren’t sure he would do well where we are and the fact that we can’t have an outdoor cat with the HOA, she was very quick to say she didn’t see how a cat could live outdoors. I was able to not laugh but it struck me so funny how our world is (was) so different than hers. It was like reverse culture shock. She cannot even begin to imagine what OUR life (was) like. My kids barely remember any other life.