I was born in Woodstock, Illinois. It is a small town, just south of Wisconsin. I lived there from the time I was born until just before I started 7th grade. I don't remember a whole lot about Woodstock, except for my baseball days, my family, and a tiny bit of school. What I remember most, though, is how fun it was to walk around town. One could literally walk from one end to the other in about 30 minutes.
As a child, about the age my daughters are now, I had a lot of freedom. That was partially from being in a small town, partially because life was completely different in the early 1980s, and partially because it seems we were always in a large group when all the cousins and our friends got together.
We had "grandmas," older ladies who we adopted and visited often. We would go spend some time with them, and they would give us candy. It was fun to come running home or to my aunt's house to show off some of the crafts we made or our "score" from the ladies. I hope when I'm older I treat the neighborhood children like they are as special as we felt.
After we moved to Arizona the Mesa area became my new hometown. In the space of 30 minutes one can drive through Tempe, Chandler, Mesa, and Gilbert. I've lived in each of those cities except for Tempe. I do love their library, though.
My favorite thing about this area is that there are so many opportunities. My current neighborhood is, by far, the one I enjoy the most. There are four different parks around us. Within five minutes we can be at a playground or a nice place for walking. It is peaceful, yet we are still in a suburban atmosphere. There are shopping centers all around, and so many places are open 24 hours a day I never have to worry about if I need something unexpectedly.
I can't say I would brag about where we live because I think rural living sounds so much neater. Daniel and I have, on several occasions, talked about moving away from here. We just can't do it. Besides, my parents live three miles down the road. That is really my favorite part of my "new hometown."
5 comments:
I grew up in a small town..I look back with fond memories of my childhood..but now as adult I think I would have to stick to my city living!
Vanessa, Once you get used to city living I think it would be hard to go to small town living. My in-laws did it, and my FIL comes to the city once a week just to get his fix! LOL
I made it to AZ for the first last month. I really liked it but then, I wasn't there in the summer. Don't do so well in the heat. :) Just stopping by from FTLOB.
Yeah, you missed our best heat by a couple of weeks. We had the hottest August ever on record. It was gross! I'm glad Fall is here. We had 189 days straight of 100 degree heat or higher.
I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin in the eighties. Life back then was much different than today. I kind of miss it. But I am fortunate to be living in a small town today as well. I wouldn't have it any other way for my children.
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