Small Town Life (8/27/2020)

“Just a small-town girl, living in a lonely world…” The lyrics from Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” are so well known. you probably finished the first verse in your head! 

What makes a small town person different from others? I’ve had the opportunity to live other places and it was an entirely different experience for me. I think it’s a good idea to leave small towns for travel or life briefly. Coming back to it gives you a much different appreciated and awareness of how different it is living in our microcosm world.

Small town life means you will see someone you know when you go out. Guaranteed. Maybe you’ll see your cousin, your bestie from kindergarten, the guy that peaked in High School, the folks from church, your Mom’s friend, your 3rd grade teacher, or a coworker. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them all on one outing. 

Small town life means you should marry a boy from out of town. Seriously. My family has been in this area way over 100 years. I went to school with family. I went to church with family. My youngest once asked me how many cousins we actually have and I just started laughing. My maiden name is White. I am kin to all the big sections of the old phone books. There is no end to the kin folk, so I married a guy from Southern California. The Coast Guard had Craig shipped in to help my family tree fork.

Small town life means if you don’t know what you are doing, someone else does. That’s very helpful at times. I get ideas for things to do because of things I’ve heard I am supposedly doing. I know people get tired of gossip, and it’s truly an evil thing at times, but I grew up Baptist. I remember Wednesday night service and the endless prayer request time & discussions. “Who is sick? I saw them Thursday and he seemed fine.” As if because they were seen Thursday they couldn’t be sick the following Wednesday. I think it’s humorous, but generally well meaning. Most people seem to really care if something is wrong. I’ve seen it in my own life. I was an often sick girl growing up with severe asthma. I spent at least a week in the hospital every year from the ages of 5-17. When I was moving out of my parents house, I looked at the stuffed animals and bags of cards given to me to bring cheer. I still have many, many cards. They are signed with love from people who are no longer with us, but I remember fondly. I’m thankful for that overwhelming show of love I received in those years.

Small town life means folks know your mom and dad and grandma and aunt and…. This is both good and bad. It’s amazing how sweet people can be when they figure out who you are. My husband often marvels at this, since he’s from a big area. My Nana, Jean Williams, loved this phenomena! I still run into people who suddenly realize I’m her granddaughter and they immediately have stories to share. That’s the good part. The bad part was I couldn’t do a single thing wrong as a teen in this area without some “do gooder” going to the library to inform Ann Carol of my activities.

I’m thankful, even with the quirks, flaws, and “do-gooders” that I can raise my children here in this sweet and peculiar small town life. I sincerely love you folks!