It's good to come "home."

I have taken the kids home for a week..."home" means back to my childhood house...Curve, TN. If you are coming from the big city of Nashville you drive towards Memphis and once you get to the smaller city of Jackson you get off road for a good 15 minutes and then you get even more off road for another 20 mintues onto what I call "the tractor road" and drive through corn, cotton and soybean fields until you think you have just about driven into the middle of no where. Then you cross some railroad tracks and you know you have come "home". It's not too pretty in a lot of places. Many abandoned trailers, rotting houses, eroded farm equipment and one too many kids running around barefoot and in their diapers (wait a minute...that would be Elizabeth this whole week - ha ha ha). Yeah, there are different rules in the country then in suburban America. I love coming "home".

My parents still live in the house I grew up...the same house my mom's grandparents built over 100 years ago. I love the feeling that comes over me when I pull into the gravel driveway and walk into the shaded front yard covered in moss and flower gardens. We came Friday afternoon and here it is Tuesday; I just now blow dried my hair and put on mascarra and actually got Elizabeth dressed in clothes that were decent looking...all to go into "town". You don't see anyone out here unless some family member decides to stop by or the local candidate for some political office pulls up to ask for a vote. To say I let myself go for awhile is an understatement. I love coming "home".

The boys have canoed in the pond out back, swam in the pool countless hours, ridden their bikes all over the fields, played batmitton, built leggos on the front screened in porch, helped bake bread with my mom and carved some wood boats with my dad. Now I don't mean to make it look all constant country fun and entertainment. We have had our moments of boredom and thank God for the Wii and cable or I might pull my hair out but still I love coming "home".

Today we ventured out to the big town of Halls. It's about 5 minutes down the highway but growing up out here God forbid you had to go into town after you had already been there once that day you would hear about it! Of course knowing that I would run into at least one person I knew I had to wash, dry and actually fix my hair...put on a little make-up, and get out a clean shirt! We loaded up in the van and headed to the kids' great-grandmother's barber shop for a fresh cut! Of course she was around the corner at the local mission so we got to surprise her in the act of buying some great deal for someone else (that is what you do at the local mission - buy a great deal for someone else who you just know will need that pair of pants or sun dress for only $2.00). The kids all got to pick out a free piece of junk - oh, I mean a toy - and then we walked back to the shop. After an hour of washing, cutting and blow drying then eating bubble gum and chatting it up with Max and G.G. we decided to drive a street over to eat some lunch. This is when I was thinking "thank goodness I put on some mascara!"

Sure enough...first we ran into the old high school football coach and his wife. Had to talk about what everyone in the family was up to and show off the kids "are all those kids yours?" hee hee!
Then we ran into my old best friend's mother...the one who used to let us throw wild parties in her yard out in Forked Deer and not tell our parents! I loved her!!! Got a quick update on my old g-friend and showed off the kids. (I'm praying the whole time that my kids act like they have some upbringing b/c you know everyone is watching us!) Then I get to the table (where G.G. already has a bowl of white beans and cornbread) and try to order a drink. Then I have to talk to all of G.G.'s friends and let her show off her "great grands" while squeezing tooty's legs real good to make her sit down in the high chair and stop taking off her shoes! (act like you hadn't just been roaming all over the country side please sister girl!) Then I try to eat my BLT and fries real fast b/c I know tooty is gonna lose it in front of all these people. As I'm getting ready to leave I hear "I knew that was a Callender boy". And I go over to chat with my husband's old best friend's dad (who also rented us a house when we lived there for a few years). I find out later from Eli that this man (the same one just mentioned) yelled out to him, "hey boy, what's your name?" "Eli." "no, what's your last name?" "Callender." "Who's your daddy?" "Nate". "yeah, that's what I thought!" When I go to pay the bill the owner of the restaurant looks at my check (they only accept cash or check) and says "You married to Mark Callender?" "No sir, Nate." "Oh yeah...I hadn't seen Nate in years!" So then I have to chat it up with him. (don't ask me who he was!) When we left Eli asked me why I knew everyone in that place. I told him that when you grow up in a small town (Halls has one stop light) you know just about everyone or at least someone in their family! I love coming "home."

I wouldn't want to live back here again. We actually did that after Eli was born for about 3 years. It was real nostalgic but after awhile we decided it was best to move on where we had more opportunity for things (money would be the biggest thing!) It's really just plain sad how small towns like this one go to the waste side when the economy hits rock bottom. Most of the factories close down and there just isn't much to do here anymore then work in a bank, the schools, doctor's offices or farm. There are so many hard working people like Nate's grandmother who still open their barber shop (or mom and pop restaurant or boutique) and try to get by on what comes in each week. And for the most part people support them around here and look out for each other. But the town just isn't what I remember it to be as a child and that makes me sad. The people that I still know who live here are nice and loyal to their roots! Don't talk bad about their hometown now... that is not my intention at all! I love coming back home and visiting and showing the kids where their mom and dad ran around, went to school, learned to drive a stick shift, etc. I love running into my old friends' parents and having them truly care about saying hey and looking at my kids and asking how we are doing even if it is just for a minute! We all keep up with each other...we all know who's grandparents have died...we all have a history together in this small town.

Four more days until we return to the busy pace of suburbia! I'm going to teach my kids and myself that it is good to be bored sometimes. It is good to figure out what to play outside by yourselves when you aren't allowed to watch anymore t.v. It is good to wander in the fields and woods and look out for snakes and discover bugs and sweat a lot. It is good to be patient with grandparents who might be set in their quite ways and obey "their" rules no matter what they are b/c this is "their" house and we will respect that! It is good to talk to strangers who knew your mom and dad or your grandmother once upon a time and act like you care about knowing who they are even if you want to run away! It is good to wake up in the morning and go outside to swing in your pajamas before you rush to turn on the television! It is good to come home!