What is Country Charm?

Charm {n.} An alluring characteristic or feature.

Crazy. A word that I could, with conviction, assure you that no one in my inner circle would use to describe me. Not because it’s a bad word, but because a straighter edge than me you have never found. Perhaps that’s to blame for my dislike of math and my Year 9 struggle to understand obtuse and acute angles. Actually, it doesn’t take much for me to find links to explain my brain’s inability to process numbers. The probability of that I know is zero. But, I find myself pondering today’s decision… 

After eight years, two schools, three promotions, 1200 plus students and 7200 marked pieces of assessment, I called, “chairs up” for the last time. (Don’t worry the irony of using numbers to prove my point is not wasted on me). I walked out the gates of my home away from home, a purveyor of laughter, larrikins and learning. I let go of my security blanket, but did so with the comforting reassurance from the best damn work wives a girl could have ever wished for. My equally supportive husband calls them “Charlie’s Angels” and these strong, smart and successful women are exactly who I want watching over me.

So, why did I leave my job if I didn’t hate it? In short, I was distracted. This distraction is definitely something I wasn’t consciously aware of, but rather what I felt. A feeling that is the very core of my being and the roots of my upbringing - country charm. It is difficult to describe if you have not experienced it, but when you have it is a feeling that will stay with you and always draw you back. 

The stars twinkle brighter; the sun sets slower and even howling winds seem to soothe the soul. Red dirt, dust and dead grass, the most unassuming of things, are strikingly beautiful. Your perspective changes; weeds become wildflowers. Time slows. Gratitude increases. You become enveloped by the peace and tranquility, all the while noticing the finer details, an abundance of wildlife right before your eyes. Country charm is a crooked fence post, a rusty tin shed and a flowering gum. It is rustically elegant. It is perfectly imperfect and I cannot wait to live a perfectly imperfect life.

Stay tuned.

Wattle and Twine x