I have to begin this post with a HUGE thank you to all of you who read my blog on a regular basis, and to those of you who are new here over the past little while. The response to my last post entitled "My New Small-Town Life" has been nothing short of overwhelming. It has been read (to date) more than 225 times, shared on Facebook pages and websites, and I even received a message from the woman who owns the Little Free Library that I raved about! Talk about a small world!
When something that you are so passionate about becomes something other people enjoy, it truly is the best feeling. :)
I am not a writer. My educational background is in Broadcast Journalism so I guess I do have some training in that department, and I certainly have been accused of being a "grammar nazi" in my time. But I'm finding this whole writing thing to be a wonderful creative outlet for me now. Not only because I can write about and share things that I am passionate about, but also because, after closing my dance studio 3 years ago (wow, time flies!), those creative juices were still flowing and yet I felt for a long time that they had nowhere to go. And now they do! :)
The photos in this post were all taken right here in Grimsby, Ontario. My new inspiration for creativity and, quite frankly, my sanity. I truly feel different here. I cannot explain why. Many people have noticed the difference in me and asked, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I just feels like home. Plain and simple.
My son and I laughed when we first moved here and saw that Grimsby's motto is "Friendly By Nature." People would hold doors for us and we would giggle to each other and say "friendly by nature." Others would wave to us while out walking the dog and we would again giggle and say "friendly by nature." Except it's freakin' contagious!
Don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty nice person. But being outwardly friendly to strangers was not something I did on a regular basis. Not because I was being rude, but because I just preferred to keep to myself and let others do the same. Not here! That is not allowed in Grimsby. :) You must wave to your neighbours, chat with other dog owners in the park, tell the check-out lady at the grocery store about your kid, and scout out the town looking for Little Free Libraries! And when you tell people you just moved here, they will proceed to tell you all the wonderful things about this little Friendly By Nature town while the ice cream melts in your shopping cart. True story. :)
And so maybe that is why I feel at home here. Why I am so enthusiastic about this little place. Because everyone else is too! Seriously! It's a bit loopy! Everyone loves it here! People will tell you what restaurants to go to, where to buy the best shoes (totally need to check that place out), they will recommend vets, dog kennels, dentists, parks, and on and on and on.
They will unabashedly tell you that you made the best decision in the world moving here from the Big City. (that still makes me laugh) And will then tell you one of 2 things; either that they have lived here their whole life and would never dream of living anywhere else, or that they also relocated here recently and isn't it just the best place ever and everyone is so friendly! I seriously think there is something in the water!
And here is proof of that. The main squeeze and I were out wandering downtown yesterday - we went for breakfast, wandered into Harmony Jewellers (again!), took a walk past the Grimsby Museum, and then found another Little Free Library! I was ecstatic! I had been told there was another one downtown and was determined to hunt it down. I hope the woman who owns this one will contact me as well. I'm pretty obsessed!
I digress. As we were walking, taking pictures, and squealing about the Little Free Library (ok the squealing part was just me), T says to me "How come you never smiled this much in Burlington?"
Ummmmm........I'm not sure. Burlington was home for 30 years. Great place to live. Loved it there. But for some as-yet-undetermined reason, Grimsby just feels like home.
Finally, at 40 years old.....I am home.
~ The Lazy Gourmet
No comments:
Post a Comment