Five Minute Friday with Lisa-Jo Baker  write for five minutes “no extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font or punctuation. Unscripted. Unedited. Real.”

If you want to join in, click on the Five Minute Friday icon at the left for all the details.

Here we go…

TODAY’S PROMPT: SMALL

BEGIN

I grew up in a small town in Indiana, right on Lake Michigan, population 4,937.  As a teenager, my BFF and I spent our summer days laying out at the beach, gettin’ a tan.  As I sat on that beach, I could look across Lake Michigan and see the Chicago Skyline.  I was in a small town, but it was like something bigger and better was within my reach.  I moved out to the suburbs at age 19, got married and started a family, and only went back to visit my family who still live there.

Recently, my family has moved to this small town.  Not so much by choice, but by necessity. I am seeing this town again through the eyes of my teenagers, who have declared that they want to stay, and not move back to the suburbs.  It was no small move for us, my kids had to leave the friends that they grew up with, but they have adjusted well.  This is a good experience for them, and they have found a new sense of freedom.  In this small town, they got out and met a whole bunch of new friends.  At any time they can meet up with their friends since everything is in walking distance, and a lot of their friends live just right around the corner, well…everything is just right around the corner in a small town.  My kids have spent time here over the years visiting my parents.  My dad would walk with them everywhere, take them bike riding, or walk along the lake.  The town has a lot more going on now than when I was growing up, and that’s what my kids love about it.  There’s a Cruise Night every month, where old cars line the main street, while 50’s music plays in the background.  There’s a huge festival called Pierogi Fest, which celebrates the Polish and Slovak culture here with a parade, food fenders, music, contests and tons of people.  My daughter is amazed at how many people she knows and recognizes as she’s out and about with her friends, never having that experience in the suburbs.

© 2013

She loves to take pictures and has a real eye for it, so she is especially enjoying the opportunity to take pictures with her friends in the park that sits on the lake with all it’s trees and beautiful gardens. Capturing a sun set at the beach, or the beauty of that magnificent view of Chicago.

I never tire of that view of the city across the drink.  But I see it differently now.  You don’t have to give something up, when there’s always something else within reach.

STOP…PENCILS DOWN