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.
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