Small Towns

By: Samantha S. Daviss

I can say I have been lucky enough to live all over the world, well a lot of big U.S. cities, and abroad for six months. But that still counts as “all over the world”, right?

I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to live in some of the largest cities in the U.S. I truly enjoyed living there at the time, but now that I am back home, in Texas, and small town Texas to boot, I now know I am where I belong. I think if I hadn’t lived in those big cities, I would have always wondered what I was missing. But I was fortunate enough to live there in my 20s and early 30s, back when I had patience.

Now I go to the city and I absolutely lose my mind. I really don’t think at this point in my life I would survive the traffic, the anger, and the chaos of the big city as a mom and a little more seasoned woman. That is one thing I have learned about myself, is that I do like wide open spaces, quiet, and solitude. When I was younger I used to think being alone meant no one liked me, or something was wrong with me; but now I crave silence and alone time.

My husband and I are building (hopefully what will be) our forever house. And it is in a spot, that when I open the car door, I hear…absolutely nothing. And it makes my heart sing. Now I know the horns, the hustle and bustle, and the excitement of the big city makes some people’s hearts sing, and that is wonderful. I share their admiration for where they live, but I know I am not that person.

Does that make me less exciting? Does that make me less cultured? Or less adventuresome? I don’t think so. As they say, “To each their own.”

There are so many reason I personally enjoy the small town life, but the main reasons are simplicity and comfort.

The comfort in knowing you can walk in almost any place and see or know a familiar face. I love the comfort of knowing your kids are (hopefully) safe in school, because they are taught and cared for by people you have known a lifetime. And with that comes the fact that those educators know they can pick up the phone and report in about your child to you, good or bad.

But living in a small town filled with comfort means you can be planning your 20^th high school reunion and know you can pick up the phone and ask any classmate for help, or talk to them about the planning aspects, even if you haven’t seen each other in over a decade.

But the part of small town life I love the most is the simplicity of it all. I enjoy driving past all the old century-marked buildings filled with new life and new businesses; and the next second I can be on the out skirts of town driving past heads of cattle grazing in the sunlight.

I adore the fact that one day I actually pulled out of my office parking lot and passed a man riding a horse down one of the busiest roads of my town, and not one person was flustered by this fact. And I worship the fact that I attended a very lovely baby shower not too long ago, with my mother as my date, at a very lovely home on the edge of town; but, as we climbed back in my car to leave, she had to pull a piece of hay out from between her toes in her open-toed shoes.

You can’t find that kind of excitement in the busy hustle of the metroplex, now can you?

I say if the shoe fits, slide that boot right on and start tromping through the fields of the simple small town life.

Living in a small town doesn’t make you simple, in fact I have found my life to be busier and more hectic here with more access to more activities and outdoor adventures that we constantly partake in; but it does help you appreciate the quiet times you have in between the busy times.