You wanna go where people know, people are all the same, You wanna go where everybody knows your name.
– Cheers Theme Tune Where Everybody Knows Your Name by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo
When I was a teenager I did everything to leave the small town that I have lived in since birth. I moved to Skegness, Whitby, for the summer seasons, moved to a town nearby & even spent 6 months in Sheffield at 17 years old.
However, when I got together with my childhood crush (who is now my husband) I ended up back in my hometown. We planned on moving to Whitby after a few years however this never happened and instead we focused on making a family.
Now I’m a mum, I have actually made friends in the village! When I was growing up I had a couple of friends but we lost touch a little.
They do say it takes a village to raise a child and we’ve now got 4. Our little town is more like living in a village.
Since being home from the hospital I really have a better appreciation for the village life!
I can walk around the block after school. Call into friends for a cuppa. Head to the coffee shop for breakfast and a chat with the staff.
People in the street that I’ve really only before said hello to ask me how I am and tell me how worried they were about me.
I feel so much stronger than I thought I would after all that has happened in the past few weeks and I believe it’s down to the support from not only my family and friends but also the people around the village that have asked how I was and shown me that people do still care.
At the moment I feel lucky to be able to let my kids grow up in a village lifestyle. There are a couple of play parks that we can walk to – Yes sometimes they could be tidier, sometimes there is glass that idiots have broken. but this happens everywhere.
I am part of the WI in a nearby village and last week was the first time I’ve been in ages.
Out of the blue one of the members brought me a freshly made apple pie that she had made! I think really she wanted to meet the new babies 🙂 but it was so thoughtful and made me again feel lucky to not only be part of the WI but part of village life!
I also have my online village, the ones that give me a shout out from time to time, the ones that have been messaging me to see how I’m getting on and to give me moral support while I was in hospital, the ones that give advise on parenting and the ones that don’t even know I exist but keep me entertained with their vlogs.
Nina x
