H - Hometown - warning....picture overload!

I grew up in a small town.

A very, very small town.

One where there are no stoplights, no fast food restaurants, no mall or movie theater.

Lakefield, MN

Not a lot of this,

but a lot of this.

My parents still live in the house I grew up in.

 Then

Now

Most of the neighbors are even still there.

I get to go back to my hometown about once a year (usually in the summer), but this past weekend took me there for a last minute visit, making this a very timely post.

To me hometown means the place where life is easy, much more simple, family and old friends.

It means getting to see my Grandpa Louis (who is 96 years young!).  

It's so tiny we ride around town in a golf cart & sometimes a four-wheeler (and this is an acceptable means of transportation!).

You can leave your car doors unlocked at night and know no one will break in.

Life is quiet.

The graduating class of 1994?  63 aspiring 18 year olds from 3 collective towns.

What used to be Heron Lake - Okabena - Lakefield High School - say that three times fast!

Even tinier?  My elementary school - the brown part of this building.

Everyone knew everyone.  Well.

In fact, I still keep in contact with many of my high school friends even though distance separates us.  I even went to college with some of them, including my high school/college BFF, Jenny.

I know I could never go back and live in such a small community, but I really look forward to going there each year.

I love the warm summer days and cool MN evenings; such a difference form the constant TX heat.

The unlimited supply of strawberries,

the changing of color in the fall,

parades that include tractors making up half of the parade,

My Grandpa Louis a few years ago in the 4th of July parade.

and goulash.  

I love running in the country and being the only person on the road.  As the few cars pass, everyone waves, most people know who you are.  It's so peaceful.  The fields become beautiful (although I still hold my breath past the cattle farms). 

While the winter sounds unbearable, it can be fun for a visit.  Ice fishing, sledding and just playing in the snow are a few of my favorite winter things to do when we go to visit.  My man, Ryan, is *dying* to go ice fishing.  This winter was brutally cold, but I have a feeling this will be happening soon!

While I make it sound like there isn't much to "do", there is so much to do.  See people, be outside, go for walks, enjoy life. Time like that doesn't always happen at home where there is so much to do; time passes in a blur.

Main Street

Even if it is just a few days here and there, the visits are about quality, not quantity.

It is a good lesson in slowing down and enjoying the ride.

Where is your hometown?  Big town or small town?