about small towns...

"Well I was born in a small town
And I live in a small town
Prob'ly die in a small town
Oh, those small communities

All my friends are so small town
My parents live in the same small town
My job is so small town
Provides little opportunity

Educated in a small town
Taught the fear of Jesus in a small town
Used to daydream in that small town
Another boring romantic that's me

But I've seen it all in a small town
Had myself a ball in a small town
Married an L.A. doll and brought her to this small town
Now she's small town just like me

No I cannot forget where it is that I come from
I cannot forget the people who love me
Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town
And people let me be just what I want to be

Got nothing against a big town
Still hayseed enough to say
Look who's in the big town
But my bed is in a small town
Oh, and that's good enough for me

Well I was born in a small town
And I can breathe in a small town
Gonna die in this small town
And that's prob'ly where they'll bury me"

~lyrics by: John Cougar Mellancamp

Ah, small towns. I was born in San Jose, California. Fifty miles northeast of San Francisco; it was something of a bedroom community back in 1963. Dionne Warwick sang about it, so I thought it was a pretty special place to hail from!

Life is never stagnant, however. My dad moved us from sunny San Jose to cold Minnesota, to be closer to his family. And so, my adventure in da frozen nort' dere, don'cha know, began.

I lived most of my life in the suburbs of St. Paul, MN. Population between 20,000 and 30,000 people, give or take, but my heart was always searching for the quiet of an even smaller community. I suppose growing up in a dysfunctional home had a lot to do with that yearning...just go seek a quiet place and watch the world pass you by.

At the age of 51, here I am today--moving to a "small town." A little town on the prairie of Minnesota, one hour from South Dakota, with nothing but bucolic beauty to fill the eye as far as one can see! Population five thousand. Not one Wal-mart in sight! Instead, it is filled with mom and pop stores, with people who move a bit slower so as to catch up on the latest gossip from folks they have known for many years. The trains are always on time, the church bells pealed on Easter Sunday and as I walked through the streets of what will now (hopefully) be my last move, I gave thanks to God for His placing me here in what I believe will be the last years of my life. Yes, I took a deep breath of this small town, a town that has real sidewalks and where folks waved at me, though they had no idea of who I was yet. My husband grew up here--actually was a little rebel in his younger years...(and we hope it has left his system!). It was through a series of circumstances, coincidences or maybe just God's idea that now was the best time as any ever to have us "here," in this place, and I am in love with being somewhere where crime has taken a back seat, where manners, God and respect for your fellow human being is center stage.

I hope to leave a footprint here in some way. I am open to all the possibilities that life has to offer. As I wrap up the last knick-knack, as I sweep the dust from my feet of the city that I have lived in for much of my life and move forward, I have sadness in my heart for what was, as well as excitement for what will be.

It is Springtime. Renewal. Rebirth. For life here in the Northern Hemisphere and for me also. Thanks be to God.