When I first moved to Cairo the small town life was fascinating to me. I think it was a new novelty to me then, people waving to me even though I didn’t know them and the whole calling me “Miss. Stacy” thing. It is not something I always think about now but there are definetly days I shake my head in amusement over experiences like going to the grocery store for a couple items and finally leaving an hour later not because it was a big store (its not!) but because of all the people I run in to talk to. The grocery store really is a time to catch up with people. It is a really nice feeling being known and Cairo is like that. I am a person that really enjoys things, places etc that are personal so it shouldn’t have been surprising that I would like it. Sometimes we do not know ourselves as well as we think we do, thankfully there is somebody that does.
Lately I’ve had a number of fun small town moments.
Last week my/our (Jesse and mine!) cat Jewel was having a bad reaction to flea medication. She was shaking like I had never seen a cat shake. There is a retired teacher in town that takes in stray animals and works to find them homes. She knows everything related to pets in the area. So, at 9:30 at night we went to her house to ask her opinion. She ushered us right in. She led us to a vet we could go to. I went back to her house a couple days later to let her know Jewel was doing wonderfully. It is good to know who to go to for what.
I was in small nearby town this morning at the florist. On a side note, the small downtown area kind of looks like the one on Runaway Bride. 😉 Anyway I discovered this secondhand store and I asked what the process was in selling old clothes. The lady upfront told me to talk to Judy. So, I went back and Judy introduced herself, the lady who was helping her and told me it was her sister Barbara up front. She asked me what my name was, who I was, talked to me about what the florist was up to! I walked out just chuckling to myself.
Today at the local ice cream joint, The Dairy Hut, I didn’t have enough cash and the lady said, “You come here enough, just bring it by later.” How nice.
We were sitting on the steps of the Catholic Church and a neighbor down the road stopped by to check up on us. He had heard from Sara’s grandma that we were all moving out of town. No, we reassured him, just Sara and Kristy are moving right now. He felt much better about that.
I came here entirely not sure about this small town business and now I call this place home. For a while this was only a place I would be for a little while and now I want to commit to it while I do live here. Amazing.
the story i find myself in... 