I ran past the new baseball and softball fields, and even though they look pretty different from when I was a kid, that's where I played t-ball and ate snow cones during the summer. I ran by several houses that were my childhood best friends' homes and thought about how long ago it was that we rode our bikes all over town. I saw the old yellow building that is the elementary gym, but my junior year it was transformed for one night into Paris for prom. The summer after my senior year, I actually went to Paris (and Scotland and England) and I went by the lady's house who took us there. She was also my pastor's wife, English teacher, UIL spelling coach and friend. I saw the football stadium where I was a kid playing under the bleachers, then a cheerleader on the track and eventually an alumni at homecoming for my 10 year reunion. I ran past the (now old) varsity gym where I played basketball my whole life. The buildings where I went to school and where my parents taught and impacted lives for so many years. The junior high where we would go to the basement late at night when there were tornadoes.
Brandon always marvels at all of the Gruver connections we meet. It doesn't matter if we are out of state or even out of the country; we will most likely meet someone who knows someone from Gruver. It never ceases to amaze him, but at least now he usually expects it to happen. I think I know why it doesn't surprise me. Mrs. Renner was our junior high librarian and reading teacher. One time she said that Gruver is small, but people from all over the world have some kind of connection with Gruver because the people are so friendly. I think that's probably true.
I went past many other places that hold a special place in my heart. First Baptist Church is where I went to church, helped with VBS and left from the parking lot every summer from the time I was in 7th grade to drive to Glorieta, New Mexico for Centrifuge camp. It's where my parents were married and where Pa used to lead the singing on Sunday mornings. It's where I was baptized and where I went to children's choir, GA's, mission friends, youth, etc. etc. etc. It was the only place I wanted to be on my wedding day in November 2008. There was one period of time when I went to UMY at the Methodist Church with a friend. I even had a solo in one of the programs, but I was sick on the night of the performance and didn't get to go. A Baptist girl singing in the Methodist church...scandalous, I know.
Then, there is the city park. There used to be tennis courts there, and I would go play while my parents played tennis with friends. Now they are sand volleyball courts where we have the Fourth of July sand volleyball tournament. The swimming pool that my dad managed every summer when I was a kid. The one where we scaled the fence one night for a late-night swim...we were 8th graders hanging out with seniors and they were so cool. The park benches I painted as part of my community service for a speeding ticket when I was 16.
So many memories. It seems so much easier to live simply here. I know, as well as anyone, it isn't perfect and life is free from complications nowhere. With less distractions and more community, it is harder to get bogged down and consumed with things that don't matter. The truth is that we can choose to live simply no matter where we are. It does not depend on our surroundings but on our choices. My family has been required to live a simpler life for the past six months, but my sincerest desire is that it sticks. I hope to never get so comfortable in life, accommodated by modern convenience, that I believe there are things I can't live without, when in reality, my life would be enriched in their absence.
I love this place. I love coming back home to relax and reminisce. I love revisiting an old memory, or several, prompted by a familiar sight, sound or smell. I am so thankful that I had the awesome privilege to grow up here, and there is no one I know who would say anything different about Gruver.
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