We all have feelings about our hometown. You know, like when someone asks where you are from and you say, "that small town west of Winston" or "how often to you drive on 40? It's exit 184, you know, the one with all of the fast food chains." Or that laugh you get when you tell someone you are from the "big city" next to your town. Then realize they, too, are "from" Winston when actually you are from Clemmons and they are from Pfafftown.

Whether we want to admit it or not, our hometown is part of us and will always be part of us. Whether you are from a big city (ha, is anyone actually?!) or from a podunk town down a county road, it will always be a big part of us and our personality.

When you first left, you were so happy to get out. You were so happy that all of your high school drama was left at the county line. You were so happy that you got to start fresh. You might not have come home at all until Thanksgiving or Christmas. You needed a fresh start and new memories.

Come your first spring away, you will start coming home a few more times. You will start to understand all your parents did for you and how much you really need them (love you, mom and dad!).

But now--now you get a smile when you say you are going home for the weekend. You get a bigger smile when you realize some of your friends, by total accident, will be home this weekend too.

You start to get excited about the annual Christmas Eve Eve unofficial but totally official meet up at the bars downtown. Or you get excited about maybe running into someone in the Mexican restaurant of your choice (we all know which one is better but you do you, boo). You get excited to let everyone know how well you are doing. You know they will ask about your parents and your brother. I mean, you aren't really home unless they ask about "your mama and them."

You get excited to reminisce about who did what and where they might be now. Talking about who does or doesn't have a baby or who decided to travel the world gets you really thinking about what your next move is.

To this place, I say thank you. Thank you for what you taught me. Thank you for what you continue to teach me. Thank you for the memories that are laid out all the way down LVC. Thank you for the nights we spent at the football stadium. Thank you for the lessons you taught us in the back pew or in the last desk in the thousand building.

You still house my parents and I will always call you home. Thank you for always taking me back and for bringing all of the kids back together around the holidays. Cheers to you, my silly small town.