Finding Treasure In A Small Town

Coastal living is a culture all it's own.  There is a certain relaxed feeling you get the instant the ionized air meets your lungs.  Stress melts away and all you can do is be entranced by the rhythm of lapping waves and the smell of salt in the air.  I loving living within a stone's throw of the river and a short trip over the bridge to the ocean.  The water's edge is our happy place.  Dinner tastes better when watching a full moon rise over the river.

We live in a small town.  Most have never heard of it.  We usually have to give a geographical reference to Daytona Beach or Cape Canaveral and the space shuttles we watch from our front yard.  It's been one of the best kept secrets for a long time.  There is a charm about small southern towns.  People know you. They watch your babies grow with personal interest.  It is the best place for raising kids.  Adding country life to that is just icing on the cake for me.

I love my home town.  Growing up I couldn't always appreciate it.  Like most I dreamed of all the places I would rather be and how long before I could shake the dust of my boots from this sleepy little town.  My parents moved from a bustling major metropolis to a place that had one grocery store and a Kmart.  Civilization has since found us but we still have no major chain restaurants other than fast food.  But the small businesses are what keep us a community.

Tonight I am sitting in my front room, watching the sun set and I am thankful for all that I have here today.  This sleepy little coastal town gave me friends who are more like family.  It gave me the love of my life. The father of my children.  It gave me great memories growing up.  It gave me purpose.  I hope my girls will have the same.  Treasures from the sea as well as treasured memories.

I hope the little things stick with them.  Dinner on a dock.  Salt air in their hair.  Shells in their pockets and sand between their toes.  Friendly faces at their favorite restaurants and good times together as a family.