Hometown

Last night my dad took me and the two older kids back to my hometown football game. It just so happened to be homecoming night. I grew up in a town thirty minutes from Wichita. Population: 2,000. Yep, everybody knows everybody. Most of the 75ish people I graduated with I went from kindergarten through twelve grade with. Lots of memories (mostly good:) and flashbacks last night swirled around my head. It's been 13 years since I've been back to a football game. It was perfect fall weather and the kids had a blast watching the game, the band, the cheerleaders, but mostly eating popcorn, suckers, and running around free by the field.

Can you tell I'm feeling nostalgic? I ran in to some friends that I hadn't seen in a long time. Funny how I'm almost 32, but when I see friends I grew up with, I feel like I'm 17 again...like the movie. Being around the school spirit, everyone dressed in blue, and walking in the bleachers where everyone knows each other definitely gives me a warm feeling. Don't get me wrong, I love Wichita, and the community God has given us. I guess being back in my hometown made me more aware of many of the little things I took for granted.

Now that I have kids, I find myself wanting the same things for them...friends they've known all their lives, teachers who know the whole family, opportunities to be involved in everything from band to basketball, and a casual atmosphere.

After all the above, one would think we're going to pick up and move back. Not in the plans, but more than anything, being back just made me thankful. Thankful for my childhood and all the good memories it has afforded me.

Oh, and on the way there I told Meredith and Oliver that they were going to get to see the track that I used to run races on. To which Meredith quickly replied, "Now you a mom" Like, give it up mom, now you couldn't make it one lap around. My kids keep me humble.