My Hometown

I took a long walk yesterday around my Hometown. I love this little place. Someone recently insinuated that because my family has not lived here our entire lives, that this isn't really home to us. I beg to differ! Home is truly where the heart is and my heart is in this little town.

My grandpa came here in his early twenties to work the pipeline. My grandma moved here as a teenager when her mother married a local man. They met, fell in love and married. This was home to them. I never met them as they passed away before I was born, but my dad and my aunt and uncle made sure I knew them through sharing stories and memories. They seemed a little adventurous and they lived in a lot of different places and worked various jobs, but this town was always home to them. It was always home to my dad, and even my mom, who has her own hometown, has a soft spot for this little town. And it will always be home to me.

After we moved to Missouri, and I was struggling at the school in Columbia, Mom and Dad made the sacrifice to drive to work every day so I could go to school here. I can never thank them enough for making that decision for me. I loved every minute of going to school here and now I am making that same sacrifice for my own children.

Despite only living here for six years, while I went to school, every time I visited before moving back, I was made to feel welcome. My grandma only went to school here for six months, and my dad for nine years, and I for five years, but I am still proud that my daughter will be a fourth generation Panther next year!