Small Town

At the park on the 4th of July I saw a few familiar faces and some old friends, but for the most part I didn't recognize anyone. At one point I even spotted a face far off and convinced myself she just looked familiar because everyone looks familiar, not because I actually knew her. But luckily she didn't brush me off so quickly. It was my old friend Jodi, who Ben and I had dinner with in Chicago last November. We chatted for a bit and it was good to see her again since she moved back to the West. But in the end, I was definitely starting to feel like I'm old enough and have been gone long enough that I really don't know most of my small hometown anymore.

Then I go to Church.

Today I took Reid to his primary class and started talking to his teacher. She was asking me some questions about our family for her lesson and then she finally asked "And who are you?"

"I'm Scott and Claudia Bassett's daughter," I replied as I head nodded in my mom's direction.

"That's what I thought. Liz, right? You were friends with Brady."

"Oh, yeah, I knew you looked familiar," and I stopped there, even though my mind kept racing. "Yes, I'm the first girl who ever kissed your son (and vice versa), and I'm really sorry that when he wrote me off my friends and I toilet papered your house. But I've always appreciated the fact that even though you caught us, you didn't turn us in or even interrupt our fun/progress (and then you made him clean it all up by himself the next morning). By the way, it was not my idea, but I'm still really sorry (and embarrassed) that we did that."

Oh, the joys of small town living. I'm certain that she rehashed that memory for a second as well.

Also, I stayed in the nursery class with Nell, and spent some time comforting a little girl whose father went to nursery with me some 29.5 years ago! She was a doll. I may not recognize many people, but it is still a small town!