Coming full circle

I never attended kindergarten, so started school as a first grader. I remember we were SO proud to learn that ours was the biggest class to ever attend Coral City Elementary. We had 3 Amish kids, 7 of us "English" and most of us were together through jr high, and some through graduation. The 10 of us in our 2 room school house made quite an impact!
Our nearest neighbor was about 1/4 mile away and they were an old couple. She was a sweet grandma type, and he was a grumpy old scrooge. Even my mother was half afraid of him.
They had raised 12 children, so had grandchildren my age. My current home sits on a corner of what was once their farm.

Coming back here to retire has been like completing a circle. When I dig to plant flowers, the soil is familiar to me. When I look down the road I see the school my father and I attended. Beyond that are the houses my grandfather built. One for himself, and one for my parents. This is truly HOME. There is no anonymity here... and we are never really alone. If the movie we want to rent is out, chances are if we ask, we will know the person who has it and could just drop in and watch it together. If our car breaks down on the way to town, before long someone we know will stop and offer a ride. This is community...people being there for each other. It does still exist.

I recently took an early retirement. My husband drives semi so is gone much of the time. If I get lonely, I simply go to town. My kids joke that I can never get out of the local grocery without stopping to speak with someone. Old teachers, classmates, co-workers, neighbors, or friends all shop there. We catch up on each others lives, share a laugh, and both feel better for the experience.

I have lived other places, but never better places. Even though I am the only one from my family to still live in the immediate area, I don't plan to ever leave. Of my 3 grown children, one feels the same way I do. He plans to make this his home. His fiance' came here to be with him, and she too has learned to love it and feels at home. She's gotten to know many through her jobs in retail and says she is glad to have ties AND friends in such a place.

My father died many years ago, but I know he would be proud that I have chosen HIS home as my own. He would love that his grandson plans to do the same. When he has children, they will be the 6th generation to be raised here. That's the great thing about circles... there is no end in sight.