LOVE LIVING IN A SMALL TOWN

There really is something about living in a small town - you know just about everyone and they know you. Even business owners.

Our post office director just retired this month. She has been there since Kaeli and all the younger kids have been born. She was always excited about the kids' activities. She was always one to express thanx for something given to her and you knew that she was sincerely thankful for the gift as well as your friendship. She was one to never make me wait to pick up something until the PO was "officially" opened. She knew all of her customers on a first name basis. I will miss her and having her ask about all the kids and our adventures, and the other way around.

I love that when I go to get the mail I find a very sweet sympathy card and personal note from our vet and all of the staff at our the clinic. She was supposed to be in surgery, but instead she was there, waiting for me, with a hug and support that was sincere and heartfelt - even though most people would just say "they are only dumb chickens." She was ready and willing to give something more personal than just being too busy and sending an assistant to help out.

It is driving down a street and seeing people waving to each other no matter where you are or go in town. It is being able to walk into the grocery store, restaurant, or library and know that you are really known on a personal level, on a first name basis. It is being able to chat with the people that work in those places and know that you care about them and they really do care about you.

It is driving through town at 20mph and noticing all the beauty of the historic homes, the renovated historic district, the flowers and trees blooming in every yard and by the roadside, the children happily playing and squealing in the neighborhood park. It is watching horses run across a field of tall grass, and standing on the porch, listening to frogs and crickets chirping or watching geese in huge numbers fly across the sky right above you.

It is so much more than I could ever describe - you dont get that in the big cities.