I moved out of my parents' house permanently in 2005. In the time between then and now, my hometown acquired its first set of stoplights, and a mechanical bull.
Not even a week after I'd settled into my first apartment, my remaining belongings were packed up, and my old room became my little brother's room, and his old room became the spare bedroom.
And THEN, my mom painted the bathroom orange. Not a bathroomy pink-orange coral shade, not some kind of dark rustic burnt sienna shade, ORANGE. Like a pumpkin.
Even though I spent my senior year there, I still can not get used to the presence of the "new" high school, and when I attended the homecoming game a couple fridays ago, my Blue Devils played a team that was not even in our conference when I was a student.
They say that after you grow up and move out, you can never actually go "home" and they always say it like it's a bad thing... but... I think it's awesome!
There is a lot to love in Evansville. And the fact that it is so unbelievably different from when I truly lived there makes it possible. I cut a lot of ties, dropped the nostalgia that was beginning to feel like baggage, and I just love that I don't come from a town that never changes. When YOU change, and your old town stays the same, it's depressing. It taints your memories when you realize what a dump you really came from and you see how totally insignificant everything you ever cared about actually is. That sucks so bad...
I don't know if I could ever actually live in a small town, but I am BLESSED to live so close to one as dynamic yet quaint and old-timey and hip all at the same time. I love love LOVE Madison, but I'm also extremely proud of where I've come from. It has taken nearly five years to figure this all out, but it was worth the wait.
mechanical bull? where is this?
ReplyDeleteyou must take pictures of the orange bathroom!
i havent actually been to evansville in so long (mybe the pig though?) as my parents moved out to the country once i moved out. for, me i really like that isolation. it allows me to focus on the people who really matter and who i want to see, like my family, or you.
what i learned after moving away from evansville is that the school system is actually pretty good, and much more tolerant/ open minded than i had thought when i was living there. MN/IA is a whole 'nother kind of crazy redneck. shit, evansville is liberal compared to these places! and, yes, i too, am proud to be a 'sconnie. most people from wisconsin are pretty damn down-to-earth.
i do always crave romano's stuffed pizza when i am in the area though. that is still there, yes?
the mechanical bull is out at the bar next to the pig. i have some fb friends who have posted photos of it, i'll try to "share" one with you :)
ReplyDeleteand romano's is like the coolest bar south of state street... i mean, they have the restaurant, too, but i have never been disappointed by the bar. they also delivered a pizza to my parents' house exactly to my specifications and it was delightful... i freakin' love romano's!
and the schools... yeah, the school system really did a lot given what they had to work with! i wish the g&t program could have been better (a girl should not face her first real academic challenge at the ripe old age of 19), but at least no child was left behind!
my brother and sister-in-law moved back in part for the schools. there were other factors, but everybody knows what they say about florida public schools.