Sparkle Dust

I grew up in a small town. Really small. Most people have no concept of really how small it is. Their faces show shock and awe that there is a town with no stoplight. But, that's where I grew up. When I was younger, I didn't really like it all that much. Everyone seemed to know everything. In high school, when one person was mad at you, everyone was. You couldn't get away from it. I couldn't wait to "grow up" and move away and live in the big city. It had to be better, right?

Well, I did just that. I grew up and I moved to the big city. Minneapolis. It was an entirely different world. I didn't know anyone. There were strangers everywhere. There were things I had never seen before. There were most definitely stop lights. Lots of them. I hated trying to drive anywhere, but even worse was taking the bus. There can be some very strange people on the bus at 6am. Overall, I liked it. Things were convenience. If I didn't want to talk to anyone, I didn't have to. The people I crossed paths with in the hallway didn't know me and didn't know my story. I didn't have to worry so much what others thought, of trying to be the person that I thought I had to be.

The past few months, I've missed living in the small town. When tragedy strikes, people pull together and help each other. They call. They stop by. They give hugs. That doesn't happen here in the big city. In the big city, people don't look at you any more and walk the other way when they see you coming. They shut their door because they don't want to talk to you.

In the past several months, someone from the small town I grew up in has been taking time to send little notes to me electronically every now and then. Just little things. Memories of my mom. Things she's working on. Things of interest. At the end of each note, she ends with a "sparkle dust" for the message. This "Sparkle Dust" always seems to find me exactly at that moment that I need it. That "Sparkle Dust" always seems to be just exactly what I needed to hear and always arrives at just the right moment. Each of these little thoughts always seem to put whatever frustrating situation I'm experiences in perspective. This doesn't happy here. It only happens in a small town, where people will take the time to try and send some joy to others when they don't need to.

I miss home.