I honestly didn’t think I would ever return home this soon, if at all, and yet here I am. Driving the familiar windy roads with my windows rolled down, smelling all the familiar scents, and watching for the key details of the trip; the beautiful small white chapel atop a hillside, the delicate sandy beaches where the river bends, and each and every mountain peak for as far as the eye can see.
My town can be compared to Dog River, and if you don’t know what I’m talking about then I highly recommend that you go down to the nearest Blockbuster and rent every season of Corner Gas you can find. I would wait, but I may be waiting a while…for I have been to the last Blockbuster on Earth and it’s in Bend, Oregon. So best of luck.
As I was saying, when I was growing up, the place where everyone would gather for coffee or a quick chat was indeed a gas station as well. Now we may not have Ruby’s cafe, but we do have a Subway. This is where the older men in town would sit for their morning coffee, this is where the school kids would walk on their lunch breaks, this is where neighbours would gossip while pumping gas. But a lot has changed from the last time I lived here. Yes, it’s still small, but not as small as it used to be, not Dog River small.
You may have experience with small towns, or you may not, but I’m sure you can all remember a time when you were unitentionally the centre of attention. Well this attention is constant in a small town, 24/7, but I suppose there is not much else to do other than putting your nose in everyone’s business. When I would come back on university breaks I would immediately drive to my parents house, and rarely leave the house, unless it was to leave town. As soon as my car drove into town everyone would know I was home. I aimed to avoid the constant third degree; “how’s school?”, “what are you studying?”, “what is that?”, “what do you want to do with it?”, “when are you done?”, “do you have a boyfriend?”. And now I’m back. What have I done?
2020. What a year hey? A little over eighteen months ago I came home, but only to watch the farm for my parents so that they could enjoy a much needed vacation. The only problem is that those two weeks turned into almost two years. Remember when we thought the pandemic would only last two weeks? And then we thought, oh it’ll be done by June…? After my stint as a stand in farmer, the world came to a screeching halt. I went from sharing a small apartment in the city, to renting my parents’ basement back in my home town. There are definitely pros and cons to this move. I did enjoy a lot more space in quarantine times than if I had stayed cooped up in my apartment. I actually took on some hobbies for the first time in years too. I started making homemade pasta, gardening, and canning. Remember the days of baking banana bread and watching Tiger King? What a time to be alive. The traffic is considerably better than in the city as well, the lack of traffic lights probably has something to do with it. In the city everyone is in a rush, but where are they rushing to? I’m not sure they even know themselves. The lifestyle in the country is definitely more laid back, yes there is still hard work to be done, but when I returned home the pressures of city life lifted. I think this may be a good move for me.
Just A Small Town Girl 