And then I remember....

I have always loved living in this little nook of the world. I grew up in a town of about 800 people with one school, two churches, two general stores, no cable television, and plenty of woods to explore. In the winter, every Saturday and Sunday was spent at the little ski area up the hill where our parents would drop off us at 8:00 and pick us up at 5:00. We would be out in the snow, skiing or lounging on one of the trails, all day long. After we got home, my brother and I would collapse in front of the wood stove and let the intense heat warm our bodies, releasing the chill from our bones. Most of the time, my parents would let us have our dinner right there, camped around that little stove.

During the summer months we would grab our bikes and ride into town, the number of kids increasing along the way, where a large group of us would hang out at the school or cool off at the swimming hole on The Lane. Sometimes there would be a pool party at Justin's or Joey's and we'd all push each other in and laugh and have fun.

Springtime was for mudding. The guys would ride their dirt bikes or 3 wheelers and I would ride my pony and we'd make our way through the woods, following the trail right to the sandbanks. There we would take turns plowing through deep puddles of mud and climbing the steepest sand banks. I remember being saved by Raymond once when the 3 wheeler I was on stalled right after I got the front tire up and over the top edge of the hill. He must have seen the look of fear on my face because he quickly grabbed the handle bar and pulled me, and the 3 wheeler up to safety.

Fall brought the hunting season where opening day often led to a case of "buck fever". This meant that many teachers and students would be noticeably absent. I remember having a bet with Mr. T, the science/gym teacher, over which one of us would get the biggest deer. I can't remember if he got one but I know that I did not.

Not all the kids in school played sports but a good chunk of us did. The soccer and softball teams were co-ed because of such low numbers but we did have two separate basketball teams. We would pile, literally since there were no seatbelt laws back then, into trucks, blazers and jeeps and we would travel to our games where we would cheer each other on, sometimes a little too loudly. Our teachers were our coaches and our parents were our drivers. And it all worked. It worked really really well.

I started this post with the intention of writing about how difficult it is to live around here sometimes. Jobs can be scarce, meeting new people can be difficult (since you either know them or know someone who does), shopping locally can be quite challenging (I went to three stores yesterday and struck out every time), and most importantly, getting a Raspberry Martguerita on a Monday night is impossible. That was how I was feeling last night. But this morning, as I was driving Molly to her orthodontist appointment, I looked up at Mt. Greylock and it was beautiful. And on the way home from her appointment, I had a different view from a different town and it was even more beautiful. And then I remember......how much I love living in this nook of the world.