Tradition

For the longest time I was the girl who desperately wanted out. I couldn’t wait to graduate high school so I could get as far away from Amherst as possible. And I couldn’t wait to graduate college so I could get the hell out of Ohio. I was running as far away from my past and my roots as I could. I was determined not to be the person who stays in the same place their whole life. I don’t know why but I wanted to be rid of my small town hometown.

But I did come home. The time away gave me the perspective to appreciate all of the things that I had disliked in my childhood. I now smile at something as simple as a muddy drop of water from the railroad bridge uptown, or the line that forms beneath the green and gold tents of Hastee Tastee or the countless sports team pictures and memorabilia that grace the walls of Hot Dog Heaven. The pride when I hear green and gold. The list could go on.

All of the traditions of my past serve to remind me of the kind of childhood you only hope your kids will experience. The kind of All American way of life that is the stuff of dreams. As I get older I find myself to be a nostalgic traditional sap who longs for the way we were, prays that that world isn’t just a fleeting memory and hopes that we will be able to return to the places we long ago ran from.

Ohio is for lovers

Dorothy knew what was up…There really is no place like home. As much as I love to travel and especially to Charleston coming home always feels so good. I missed my husband and its true that home is wherever your heart is. Because although he drives me crazy sometimes I can only be completely content when he is there with me.

Visiting the Carolina’s always makes my heart hurt a little bit. It’s so beautiful there and we have so many happy memories. Sometimes I wonder if we made a mistake returning home. However that chapter of our life is over and I need to be at peace with it. I love North Carolina, but Ohio is home. For some reason I love this flat farmland cloudy sky-ed state. I am an Ohio girl through an through.

I know people complain about the gray skies but I love it. Sometimes you need clouds so you appreciate the sunshine more. Just as in life you have to go through some tough times to fully appreciate the happy ones. It reminds you that life isn’t perfect and every day isn’t full of sunshine. But you make it through.

It’s hard to explain to someone who isn’t from Cleveland the love and pride I feel for my hometown. It’s something only we can understand. But for me my heart has always been in Ohio. For me it’s always been Cleveland.