I finally found some motivation and had a thought while driving. I am a country girl. I grew up in a small town. I use to think I would always live in the country. That I would never leave.
And then I left. I moved to Kansas City, on the Missouri side.
I didn't know that it was important to lock my doors for several months after we moved into our little apartment. In the country you don't need to lock your doors. One day someone mentioned to me that I should really be locking my door and so I started locking it. Not very long after that a man tried to get into our apartment. He banged on my door. Jiggled the lock. And eventually went away.
That scared me enough to remember to dead bolt my doors every day...all the time.
Then there was the day that there was a double homicide at our complex. The man who killed his wife and brother forced his way into another woman's apartment to use the phone. Needless to say we moved to another apartment complex about a month later.
When you live in the city you learn rather quickly which areas are not safe. Which areas you should avoid at night. And where you need to go in pairs. Sometimes you can see it. You can sense it. Feel it.
I learned to make eye contact with people and smile as I walked by. Which is extremely hard when you're an introvert! The only down side to making eye contact is sometimes you get unwanted attention. Haha! I had one guy, on hospital hill, turn around after I walked by and asked me if I had a man. I smiled and said, "Yes I do. But thank you!" Now THAT is something I never had to do in a small country town.
Now that I'm back in the country I still lock my doors. It's a habit. But the safety I feel has dramatically increased. I still look people in the eye. It's a good habit.
I loved the convenience of city living. Everything is close by. So much at your fingertips. But I missed the beauty of the country. I missed the hard work that has to get done in the country. There is SO much more that needs to get done in the country. And I love it. But I'm weird. Haha! I love keeping busy.
I love that in the small town everyone knows each other. They know each other by name. They are friendly with one another. They build relationships of trust by treating one another well. Yes, I know this happens in some places in the city too. But it happens more often in the country. It's a culture.
It's amazing the things I had to get used to in the city, ways I had to adapt, that now I can let go of. But one thing is for sure. I'm more comfortable here in the country than I've been in years.
You can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl!
#youcanttakethecountryoutofthegirl #countryliving #smalltownsarethebest #whereeverybodyknowsyourname
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