Trees and Fences
What I love about my new-ish urban lifestyle is the proximity to everything and the simpler life due to the smaller house and lot. I am overall very pleased with the new living situation - except for one thing. When we bought the house there was a line of evergreens in the yard of the house behind us which provided a nice, tall green screen between the two houses. We did not know it at the time, but that house had been sold, and last spring, the new owners came to talk to us about taking the trees down because they were unhealthy and preventing them from growing anything in their yard. It was very neighborly of them to give us a heads up, and they felt bad, but we understood.
The challenge is that for months now, we have a straight and virtually uninterrupted sight line to the back of their house. When you are outside in the yard, the 6’ fence gives plenty of privacy, but because the houses are a few feet higher, when I am in my family room or screened in porch I can see over the fence to the back of their house (and they to mine). My husband and I LOVE being outside for a cocktail, or a coffee, or to read a book, so this fishbowl effect is less than ideal.
We would not have bought the house if those trees had not been there, but this is something that was completely out of our control. The trees we have planted will grow and there are fairly simple solutions to the problem so I am confident we will get there. But for now, every time I look out there, I remember my old yard where you could not see anything but green. It makes me grieve the loss of that space and I feel both sad and nostalgic.
We often think everything will be perfect and good once we get “there” but that is never the case. In fact, once “there” we usually find things that feel disappointing, unexpected, or problematic. And it is okay to have these feelings, we are only human.
I think that sometimes people like myself who have so many things to be grateful for can feel bad talking about a challenge like this. It is so “first world.” Absolutely. But creating a home that rises up to greet you, and helps you relax and rejuvenate, is of critical importance to our mental health. The world is full of challenge and struggle, I am going to take care of myself by making my small corner of the world just what I want it to be.
