Have you ever seen the play Our Town? It is about life in Grover’s Corners. The narrator begins telling the audience, “this is the way we were in our growing up and in our marrying and in our dying.” The play is about being a human; growing up, falling in love, getting married, facing loss, and realizing how every minute counts in the lives that we are living out.
My hometown is Springfield, Ohio, known as the “Champion City” thanks to the manufacturing that took place here. I live in the same neighborhood I grew up in as a kid, playing flashlight tag and riding bikes until the street lights came on. I also raised my three kids in this neighborhood. Watching them make snow forts, bike ramps, and them also coming home when the street lights finally came on.
I went to North High School. I loved going to the football games, dances, and hanging out with all my friends. My kids went to the same high school which was called North High for one and Springfield high for the other two. I was able to watch my oldest son play football, my youngest son play in the band, and my daughter being in a musical there. My high school teachers ended up being my kid’s teachers. These teachers began teaching right out of college when my high school career began and were ready for retirement when my kids came along.
My love story began here. I met Bryan Bailey outside of Mike and Rosy’s Deli. Can you picture us driving around town, going to parties, and enjoying being young and free? We also raised our kids here, welcomed a son in-law, daughter in-law, and two grandkids. We are now living out our late middle-aged years and are heading into our golden ones.
Our friends live here. We spend the weekends getting together playing cards, talking about anything from our faith to politics, or just eating smores by a campfire. We have seen all of our kids grow into adults; we have seen them fail and we have seen them succeed. Our lives have greatly changed throughout the years. We have mourned each other’s losses and celebrated each other’s triumphs.
Just like in the play Our Town, the narrator of “my” story could also talk about life beginning in Springfield, with my giving birth to one of my sons here. The narrator could also talk about life ending. My dad resides in the graveyard near my home, just like all of the people that reside in the graveyard of Grovers Corners.
This blog is a tribute to my life in my hometown, my Grover’s Corners; with memories of the past, of the present, and cherishing the ordinary moments that have made me who I am.