Not Seeing the Forest for the Trees

This Christmas, my husband and kids and I flew out to visit with his family in Maine.  He grew up out there, in the middle of the state, amongst the trees and the moose and the rocks.

I, on  the other hand, grew up in the 'burbs of Chicago, amongst the strip malls, the museums, and the restaurants.  I could see the buildings of downtown from the 3rd floor windows of my high school.

When we visit my folks there in the 'burbs, he is amazed that I rarely want to go downtown.  And when we visit his family in Maine, I'm frustrated that he doesn't seem to want to go walking in the woods or exploring the streams and mountains.

Why is that?  Well, I spent my childhood going (with my parents) downtown.  I remember the problems with parking, the traffic, the wind, the expense.  However, I do remember the fun, the excitement.  I remember going to concerts and museums and boat shows.  It was fun and crazy.  But I don't know how my parents did it.  Dragging anywhere from one to four of us around?  Paying for all us?  Not losing us in McCormick place?  Wow.

My husband grew up spending his days out in the woods. He chopped wood and used a BB gun.  He knew people who hunted game each year, who fished, who worked at the tannery.  He saw bears and moose roaming around.

Have we both been so burned-out by our own backgrounds that we can no longer enjoy them?  I don't know.  I so badly want to tramp through the Maine forests and play in the streams.  I want to see the moose!  I want to pile up rocks and build lean-tos.

My husband wants to be in the busy city and go to the jazz clubs.  He wants to go downtown on the fourth of July or New Year's Eve.

Anybody else out there with this problem?

I hope that we each get our heart's desires.