Where do I come from?

Where do I come from?

I come from lemonade stands.

I come from swing-sets and cul-de-sacs. Where even the most expensive neighborhoods don’t have gates.

I come from late night diners and Super Walmarts.

I come from a town where Saturday mornings are for softball games and Sundays are for Pop Warner football.

I come from a town where the high school has four floors but everyone knows everyone else. Where your teacher has taught your brother or sister, or maybe even your dad.

I come from a town where all your friends walk in without knocking, because they all know the code to your garage. Where the whole neighborhood has a spare key to your house and they water your plants when you go on vacation.

I come from pumpkin patches and county fairs. A place that holds a festival every summer just to celebrate cheese.

I come from a place where people say things like, “Dan the barber” and everyone knows who that is, because we only have one barber named Dan.

I come from a school that once had to go into lockdown because there was a bear wandering around outside.

I come from snowball fights in the high school parking lot and waiting all year for yearbooks to come out. From senior skip day and eighth grade picnics. Where senior pranks are still a thing and occasionally go awry, landing us on CNN. Where everyone takes a limo to prom and all the girls leave school early to get their hair and makeup done. Where the homecoming pep rally pits all the classes against each other, but in the end everyone just gangs up on the freshmen.

I come from a town that still has a paper boy and someone who plows your driveway when it snows. Where every Christmas you leave them a gift to let them know you appreciate them. A place where the nail salon hands out Christmas gifts to its regulars, even though you speak different languages and in the ten years you’ve been going there you’ve never had a real conversation.

I come from a town where every business is owned by a friend’s parent, and they all sponsor a Little League team.

I come from a town where there are three different ice creams stands and people will fight to the death over which one is better.

I come from Easter egg hunts in the town park. From a town where the kids still write letters to Santa and leave him milk and cookies. A town where kids leave a carrot in the yard for Rudolph. I come from a town where everyone visits Eggbert - the talking egg - for Christmas each year instead of Santa.

I come from a town where Sweet Sixteens rival the extravagance of weddings, and you invite everyone you’ve ever known.

I come from a town where the high school has an all night graduation party, complete with a car giveaway, just so the students wouldn’t drink and drive after graduation.

I come from a town where the best part of getting the local paper is flipping to the police blotter and seeing what names you know that did something dumb that week.

But I also come from a town that hasn’t escaped the tragedies of the modern world. A town where car accidents take the lives of children and where parents were killed in 9/11. A town where sometimes, depression hits a little too hard. Yet, in the face of such hardships, I come from a town that comes together in support and unity. I come from a town of strength and resilience.

I come from a town that made me who I am today.