My hearing aids started losing battery power before the day is done a week or so ago. I contacted Costco, where I got them, and was told that, as they are still under warranty, they would send them for repair and possible battery replacement (they’re rechargeable). So yesterday, Gerry and I drove to Regina (about a 50 minute drive) to drop them off and pick up a few things.
Do I miss having a Costco in the city where we live? No.
Do I miss the traffic in a larger center? Not a bit.
In fact, while I was in Kamloops a week or so ago and driving my daughter’s car, I realized how much I’ve come to appreciate the pace of Moose Jaw where the pace is slower and the population lower. For reference, the population of Kamloops is approximately 107,000; Regina, 250,000; and here in Moose Jaw, where it hasn’t changed significantly since I was born, 35,000. Perfect.
Moose Jaw has everything we need and what we don’t have is a short jaunt or an online order away. Our Safeway is smaller, but sufficient. There’s no Michael’s craft store—I’ve probably saved money as a result. There’s a Starbucks, cute local coffee shops, enough big box stores like SuperStore, WalMart, Winners and the like (though I don’t go to any of them often), and a plethora of dollar stores. We have a beautiful library, a geothermal pool spa (no float tanks—I sorely miss those), and parks galore. Gerry and I both have doctors. We have a dental hygenist. I’ve had the occasion to make use of our modern hospital facilities. There’s little wait time to get in to see a doctor (as opposed to the 80 minutes our daughter was on hold for before she actually spoke to a receptionist at a walk-in clinic in Kamloops just to make an appointment to see a doctor).
But I digress.
I started this post to write about how I’m experiencing an uptick in quiet as a result of not having my hearing aids. I’m saying “huh” and “pardon me” more often. The volume on our television is a titch louder. But all in all, I’m enjoying the quiet—and realizing just how poor my hearing was before I got the aids. I’m going to the local open mic night at a local coffee shop this evening where talented folks will share stories, poetry, and maybe a song or two; I suspect I’ll miss my hearing aids most of all tonight. Aside from that, I’m basking in the extra quiet while it lasts.
Oh my goodness this is so absolutely beautiful, Linda. I so appreciate you taking me to a place that I’ll never get to visit in person. And it makes me appreciate again, the joys of living in a very quiet place (during winter) … even if there’s no Costco in sight.