Sometimes living in a small town can drive you a little bit crazy. Ok. More like A LOT crazy.As a teacher, living and working in the same town where I grew up can be more drama than it's worth. Everyone knows you. Either they went to high school with you and still remember you as that geeky girl no one quite knew how to handle, OR they now know you as their child's teacher. Sometimes both.
You can't schlep into the grocery store in your favorite grubby sweats, bare faced with your hair all askew, on Saturday morning like a normal person would. No, ma'am. Why, you ask? Because the minute you do, you'll immediately come face to face with at least 2-3 co-workers and a handful of wide-eyed students and their parents. If you don't believe me, try it.
Co-workers will suck you right back into a heavy conversation about work, the kind of stuff you spend all weekend desperately trying to forget. Forty minutes later and you might as well be stuck at a staff meeting.
Students gawk in awe and peer curiously into your cart. Parents, too. Who knew teachers actually had lives outside of the classroom walls. Mortified, you try to conceal the huge bottle of wine or Vodka you were planning on diving into that night with dinner. In your haste, you inevitably forget about the huge, bright pink box of tampons sitting atop the four frozen pizzas that serve as week night dinner when you're too tired to cook.
Trust me. Nothing is more humiliating than grocery shopping in a small town when you are a well-known, although not always well-liked, teacher. N.O.T.H.I.N.G.
Red-faced you try to carry on a civil conversation with the parent who, after missing every pre-arranged conference, suddenly wants to ask how their child is doing in school. Now?
But then there are those times when small town life suddenly surprises you. Makes you forget all the embarrassing moments that loop throughout each day.
Friday, a local man lost his life in a weather-related car accident, leaving behind a wife and three very young children. Within hours, the townsfolk pulled together. They raised organized diaper and formula drives, lined up a dinner schedule to feed the family, and raised $20,127. It took only 1 day.
Suddenly that claustrophobic little town, doesn't seem so bad after all. It gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling deep in your belly.
Redemption For Liars is set in a small town, just like mine. Smaller even. Hill's Creek, Texas is the fictitious town where everyone knows everyone. The local diner serves up gossip alongside it's famous Heart Attack dinner combo. And, just like my town, when tragedy strikes, everyone is there to lend a helping hand.
How about you? What's your favorite fictitious town?
Life in a Small Town - part 2.
ReplyDeleteFriday, I ran into a former student's parents at a hospital in a nearby town. Later in the day, I headed into our local Walgreens to drop off a prescription to be filled and ran into a family friend, who just happened to be my sister's 5th grade teacher. When I returned to Walgreens hours later, lo and behold I bumped into a former student, a current student, and the same former student's parents whom I'd chatted with at the hospital earlier in the day. THEN, as if that wasn't enough, when I went to leave the store, I discovered a car was blocking my car. It was my co-worker dropping off her daughter's friends. I'm telling you, you can't go anywhere in this town without it being a class reunion or parent-teacher conference! Gotta love it.