I grew up in a small town–a very small town. I loved being around nature, eating food right out of the garden, or off the tree. The stars were bright and endless, and birds sang all day long. There were seasons and many of my high school acquaintances lived on farms. Beautiful autumn leaves, snow days, playing outside, and spending eight grades at a small school next door to a lovely church.
Growing up in the Midwest, you get used to certain things and take some things for granted–not in a bad way. You just expect them to happen, like Spring, for instance. I grew up, moved away, traveled, got married, had a child, got divorced, and moved to Florida. I missed the seasons but it was nice to have fresh flowers year-round. I love flowers, always have.
Wherever I traveled, or lived, I always made time for flowers, especially the ones that attracted bees, birds, and butterflies. Wherever I was, as long as I had flowers, I had a piece of home with me. A little piece of my Kansas home. I carried it with me in my heart everywhere I went.
Then one day, a little piece wasn’t enough. There was nothing to hold me to any one particular place, so I decided to move back to Kansas for awhile. It was an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life which, by the way, was changed irrevocably by the love I was shown there. It was much better than it was when I was actually growing up there.
I moved back to Florida and life went on, but not as usual. There was no usual after being home. My life was richer, my experiences more fulfilling, my heart more open. Small town life spoiled me. It’s all I think about now. And I no longer need to carry a little piece of it with me. It is part of who I am.
It’s Never Too Late to Be Great! ®
Image courtesy of Rawich at FreeDigitalPhotos.net