A Small Town Girl's New Perspective on What a Small Town Really Is...

Before yesterday if you had asked me if I grew up in a small town, my answer would have been "YES!” I believe that anyone who grew up with me would agree that our town is that southern town that is depicted in all of the football movies. You know the one! That town that shuts down on Friday night to show complete loyalty to the football team, most places are closed on Sunday, most every family we know attended the same church that their grandma's grandma had attended, everyone attended one high school, no matter where you went or what you did somebody knew your Mama and so you couldn't get away with anything and you were constantly being asked the questions "how's your mama and them?" even though the truth was that they already knew, going to Tallahassee was a super big deal because there was so much to do and so many places to eat, and last but certainly not least there was the ONE place that everybody ate and hung out all the while constantly complaining that there was nothing to do and nowhere to go in this small town we called home... you know, the one we couldn't wait to leave!

Well, I have to admit that yesterday; the small town of Cairo, GA became A LOT BIGGER to me!! I have recently moved to Boston, GA and it's a small, charming community where everyone knows everyone! The homes are beautiful and the people are friendly. I have joked with people before that I thought I lived in a small town and then I moved to Boston... this joke became a HUGE reality to me yesterday. In Boston, we have 2 restaurants, a bank, some cute antique shops, a peanut company, a convenient store, and a store that sells EVERYTHING from groceries to furniture, to cars!!! We're a 10 minute drive from Thomasville and a 30 minute drive from Valdosta so venturing out of Boston on a daily basis isn't feasible so most days Eli and I hang out at the house and play outside when the weather permits. However, yesterday was a beautiful day and since I needed to go to our post office to buy stamps, I decided that E and I would go eat at the Cafe in town because they have a daily country cooking special (including a drink) for $6.95 and it seemed like a nice, fun outing for us. So E and I pack up the stroller and head down the street to the cafe when I see the sign on the door that reads, "Debit card machine out of order."... WHAT? Really? This is the 2000's right? This wouldn't be the last time that I said this to myself yesterday!!! Well, I never have cash on me so on to the post office we went, much to my surprise the Post Office was closed for lunch... every day from 12-1 they close down. Okay, breathe... the reality is sinking in that my outing is going to be unproductive and we're going home to eat leftovers. Then I remembered that there is a bank in Boston, they must have an ATM, being the only bank in town... so, we walk there and much to my surprise when I walk in and see 1 teller and 1 customer, that they don't have an ATM, you know what I'm thinking at this point... what year is this again? I have yet another idea... let's go to the other restaurant because they have AWESOME, CHEAP hamburgers!! So, we walk there and much to my surprise, they have closed down for GOOD!! WOW... so now we have 1 place to eat! Eli and I walk home very defeated and feeling like we've stepped back into the 60's!! The story does have a happy ending; I came through and found enough change in our house to take us to lunch at the only place in town!! :)

What's the point of this blog? To all my Cairo peeps... you do have food choices, a movie theatre, a skating rink, several banks all with ATM's, and you even have stores that sell things other than antiques!! So, when you think that there is nowhere to eat and nothing to do remember that there are smaller places with less convenient amenities and if that doesn't work for you, come visit me in Boston and I'll treat you to a fabulous lunch at the Cafe and a charming afternoon looking at old homes and quaint antique shops in a lovely town where it is safe and nice to walk everywhere!! :)

Acceptance with a Side of Turkey

A clean house, pictures hanging on the wall, a creative scrapbook area, and a mantle that tells the story of the family that now occupies this house. I take a step back and breathe in a deep sigh of relief, yes, I have finally come to a place of acceptance!

For the past 4 months, our decorative items, pictures, and carefully constructed scrapbooks have been sitting in boxes. If you came into our home before last Wednesday, you would have assumed we were in the process of moving, not that we had lived there for a while and were settling in. What changed last Wednesday? Company was coming over for Thanksgiving and I had to get everything in order to show the beautiful house that we now call our home. So, I frantically ran around unpacking boxes, throwing away trash, setting out knick knacks and pictures, and showing Tommy where to hang things. Now, I had been telling myself that I hadn't done all of this because I lacked the time... so, did time magically present itself last Wednesday, NO! The truth is, I had been putting off what I didn't want to do. You see, unpacking meant closing a door, and walking through the new one. In other words, casting down vain imaginations that things would return to "normal" and clothing myself in the reality of the new journey.

The truth is, I love our new home, I love being home with Eli, and I love going to school! But the truth also is, that I miss our first home deeply, I miss friends that I used to see all the time, I miss work, and I miss children that are apart of my heart!! But the ultimate wonderful truth is that God is incredible and my wounds are healing! These days, tears are few while smiles abound, I can go places that I couldn't go without twinges of pain, and I can do things that I never imagined possible. ACCEPTANCE is a wonderful thing.

As I took a step back late last Wednesday evening and looked around, I was HOME!! The last thing to be hung on wall was a canvas painted by a precious 4 year old class that I purchased at the auction last year. After I bought it, the sweet teachers signed the canvas and had each child sign it. The canvas is rainbow colored with butterflies to remind of sweet little girl whose name isn't signed and it reads: "Teach them to pray and when they aren't with you they will find their way." ~Laurie Helton
This canvas hangs above my personal scrabooking space, in my favorite room of the house where I also do my quiet time and Bible study... it's a melding of the old and the new... all the things that have happend and all the people that I have met on my journey that make me who I am. This canvas meant a lot to me when I received it but it means even more now becuase it reminds me that I planted seeds of scripture and prayer into the children I served and as I continue to pray for them, I know God is watering those seeds and they will find their way in Him. I find such peace in that!!!

Here are a few pictures of the canvas and the new beautiful space! :) Thanks for reading my thoughts!