small town girl

I am back from my vacation in Ohio. I giggle as I write this because growing up there I never would've considered going back a vacation. Dorothy got it right though, there's no place like home. There is something about those pothole covered roads and little white flowers covering the front lawns like a blanket that makes me yearn for my childhood. It makes me wish I was still that little girl running barefoot through the grass, wrists wrapped in dandelion bracelets with a big popsicle grin across my face.Growing up in a small town is tough. Your parents knew you got in trouble at school before you even got home because Miss Natalie from the cafeteria called home after lunch to tell them. As teenagers there wasn't much to do except hang out on the front porch or drive around. and around. and around. I remember when Angie, one of my closest friends in HS, got her first car. A white Grand-Am--I think we put 1,000 miles on it that week!After graduating high school I couldn't wait to move on to bigger and better places. I yearned for the lights of a big city and the hustle and bustle that lined its streets...Now that I'm a mother I see things soo differently. I cherish those small town values and memories.I don't know that I would or could ever go back to my small hometown but I hope one day to dig my roots far into the ground of some small town, perhaps a bit closer to home too.I had a great couple of weeks catching up with old friends and spending lots of quality time with my family.Here are some of my favorite moments:

Watching my Dad put rally caps on the boys at their first baseball game

Watching the boys play with their cousinsListening to the boys laugh as they get pushed on the swings by their great-grandmotherHanging out at the little hot dog joint for lunch

Root, root, rooting for the home team...Go Tribe!Playing in the rainCelebrating my grandparents 50th AnniversaryAdmiring my parents, who have been married for over 30 years and still act like honeymooners...and of course, probably my favorite thing of the entire trip, watching my sister waddle around as she enters her 8th month of pregnancy. This baby is such a blessing and I cry every time I think of how I won't be there when she gives birth. I've prayed for this child and that moment for so long and I never in my wildest dreams imagined I wouldn't be there to share it with her and her husband. She is such a beautiful pregger! Keep her and her baby in your prayers!What hometown memories do you have? What memories are you creating for your family? I'd love for you to share!