Memories (Part 1)

My childhood was an idyllic one. I grew up in Granville-a charming, small town in central Ohio. Quintessential middle America.  At the time, a yet undiscovered gem.  We lived out in the country, in a little subdivision snuggled between cornfields and rolling hills.  Most of my memories are of the summertime--catching fireflies, playing in the woods, having sleepovers, climbing on hay bales, and searching for arrowheads in the cornfield behind our house; running through the dewy grass late at night, riding my bike (with a banana seat, of course) around the neighborhood, and swimming with friends at Spring Valley Pool until our lips turned blue and our teeth chattered.  These are just a few of my favorites.

Tarah was my best friend growing up.  We were two peas in a pod, so to speak.  She lived a few houses down from us on Knoll Drive.  This past weekend, I got to reunite with my old friend, who I hadn't seen in more than twenty years. It was a blessing...

My brother, me, and Tarah on our back porch.

It was so special seeing Cindy, Tarah's sister, again.

My, how time flies...

Dave, Grace and I, along with my parents and brother, Seth, drove down to our old stomping grounds in Ohio.  Although at times I felt like our eventual destination must be Wally World, we ended up having quite a good time, despite a few bumps in the road (or should I say, barrels), many, many potty-stops, and a near-overdose on Johnny Horton and the Muppets.

We really enjoyed catching up with the Blayney's, Tarah's family.  I think all of us were all glad we took the time out of our three-day trip to do that.  We met up at her parent's place, who still live in the same house as they did when we lived there.  When we walked in, not much had changed. It even smelled the same (in a good way).  I was half expecting Tarah's old room to have Duran Duran posters still hanging on the walls and Glamour Gals in her closet.  No such luck, though.  It definitely took me back, and it was great to catch up, if only for a couple of hours.  Tarah has a beautiful family of her own now - a son, Kevin, who is two, and a daughter, Rachel, six.  Grace was quite taken with both of them, especially Kevin.  They had quite a good time playing while the adults reminisced.

Honestly, I really wasn't sure what Granville would be like twenty-some years later, but, I was pleasantly surprised that, while there were some changes to the small town of my youth (new subdivisions and the like), it was not nearly as developed as I had feared.  Many "green areas" have been preserved, and most of the new businesses that have gone in are still independent, small businesses, and not part of larger, national chains.

 Downtown Granville...

Grace was quite fond of the new frozen custard shop

The Buxton Inn

The Library.  So many story-time memories...

The Granville Inn

 In many ways, I'd love to move back to Granville, for me, but also for Grace--so she could have some of the same experiences that I did; the ones you only get in a small town.  I forgot how just much I missed them after all these years...