Moving home…. To a SMALL town. My hometown.
There’s nothing like it. Everywhere I go, there are people I know.
Literally.
I walk out my back door and see straight across the fence to the deck where my Grade 9 homeroom teacher enjoys the weather with his lovely wife.
Or I walk out my front door and see the house owned by a guy I went to high school with, where a group of them gather every Friday to play poker.
Or just next door – a wonderfully complicated family connection because that’s the way my family rolls. Family through and through.
Small town. Hometown.
The same grocery store.
The same bank.
The same pharmacy.
The park, the farmer’s market, the festivals.
Every little bit of it is the same.
Driving the roads from here to there, I realize my kids will know the same roads.
Talking with family friends out and about, I realize my kids will call them family friends too.
This year my son will go to the same little school I did, taught by the same woman who taught me.
This is home.
The home I didn’t even know I wanted.
Where I thought life was too simple and opportunities too sparse.
And where, truth be told, I thought it was stupid to stay, judging those who did.
Where I thought minds were closed and culture was absent
The home I had walked away from, in search of something bigger, better. In search of more.
And yet here we are, in my little hometown.
With our lives bursting with play, connection and joy.
Surrounded by love.
And now I know, this small town is everything we need.
Thank you, Parrish, I know just how you feel! As a teenager I couldn’t get out fast enough, but eventually came to realize it’s where I need to be. There are still things I miss about the Big City, mostly living without a car and being able to walk/bike most places, but there’s way more that’s better about being here!
Ya, it seems to be a very common sentiment. Life in a small hometown is heartwarming and grounding. (And we get to walk or bike most places because we live IN town)
I moved to a tiny village near a small town – not my home town at all. My home town was the suburbs of a huge city and I though I couldn’t possibly survive a small town. It held wonders that surprised and delighted me. I understand what you’re saying, Parrish. It’s good to be known, held, witnessed – and to do the same for others.
I grew up on a farm, lived in a small town, then in a big city. For 5 years we travelled in an RV. When we were done travelling we returned to small town living. I never thought I would do that but that 5 years on the road when we stayed at out of the way places with little traffic made me realize that I could not go back to city living. I love it here!