MY HOMETOWN

Today I'm linking up with Andrea over at Momfessionals to talk all about my hometown. In all honesty, growing up I always wished my parents would have chosen a different place to build our life. You know, somewhere along the coast or in the Rocky Mountains. Looking back now, I couldn't be more thankful to have grown up in my little ole' hometown.

At first glance, Columbia City (population of about 8,000!) is just a bunch of corn fields, fast food restaurants, and a Walmart. But over the years, it has become a lot more than that to me. When thinking about this post, I pondered the question, 'what truly makes a town feel like home?' Is it the fancy dining or the high end shopping? Maybe. But for me, that wasn't even an option. It was the people that I grew up surrounded by and the memories we made along the way that truly made Columbia City my forever hometown.

For me it was walking to the Court House Square on a Saturday morning with my parents and bringing home lots of fresh flowers and veggies from the Farmers Market...

it was the mile long tandem rides me and my best friend Madi would take across town to the tennis courts on warm, sunny, summer days...

it was the days spent laying out at my Grandparents pool with all of my best friends once a week, talking boys, the future, and laughing way too hard, all while sipping on lemonade and pounding down gold fish like nobodies business....

it was the diner where I ordered biscuits and gravy every Friday morning until I was a senior in college with my Dad and my Grandma's brother....

it was the church and the congregation that helped root my faith and unite me with my lifelong best friends...

it was the baseball diamonds where my dad was always our coach and we would always drink a slushy with every syrup flavor under the sun after all of our games...

it was the times that I spent on the couch at the local coffee shop downtown with my besties before church on Sunday mornings...

and it was the times I spent crying, laughing, and creating a tiny little life, in a tiny little town, in my tiny little home, with the greatest family I could ever ask for.


As time goes by, things in Columbia City will change. They will rebuild the high school I graduated from, my favorite diner may close and a new one may open, my grandparent's may sell their house with my favorite swimming pool and a new family may begin to make memories there, and that's okay.


Although those things have significance to me in some way, they aren't what make Columbia City so special to me and they aren't the reasons I look so forward to coming home. It's my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, that still live there that make coming back so special. They are what make coming home feel like home.


Can't wait to read all about your hometowns!