Small Town Girl

I am a small town girl. Through our many moves growing up, we almost always (one exception, I think) lived in small towns. I love the feel of them, the sense of community. I love knowing the people around me.

I have now lived in not-so-small towns and rather large cities, and I always feel a little lost. Not geographically, though that is sometimes an issue, but socially and emotionally. I'm just another face in the crowd.

So, who would've thought that I would find a little bit of that small town vibe halfway around the world?  Living on a small base, especially one in a foreign country, is similar to living in a small town. It's easy to get to know a large portion of the population when you see them EVERYWHERE. The clerk at the BX knows us by name because we are in there at LEAST once a week. The clerk at the commissary praises Ben's soccer skills while we check out. That little girl I helped get unstuck at the park this summer? She's in Keri's class. That other preschool mom? She's one of the Key Spouses for the squadron.

Okay, so where did this rant come from? It came from thinking about schools. My graduating class was 45 students (most of which had been in school together since kindergarten). Ben's graduating class was around 1000.  That's crazy!

The school here is down from last year. There are currently less than 500 students from preschool to 12th grade. We went to graduation last year to support, and celebrate with, the daughter of some friends of ours. This was the graduating class:

 

 

I hope wherever the Air Force takes us, our children have the opportunity to be in schools that are small enough to allow them to not feel lost in a crowd.