If you didn't know what you were up to, someone else most likely did. One of the side notes of growing up in FB, is that some residents had little to do in their personal lives and made it their mission to meddle and share what "Sam Smith was doing last night." I think that the gossip may have had it's advantages as well as disadvantages. Our Mom was a school bus driver and knew a lot of the school aged kids, their siblings, their parents, their grandparents...which meant she almost always knew before we did, what we were up to.
The Senior Ball was coming up, when I was 16. Underclassmen could attend and I was looking forward to it. My boyfriend (who is now my husband) and I were planning on going to the dance for a short time and then "head out" to a friends house afterwards for a party. Our friends lived North of town about ten miles. If you haven't been to a high school party in FB, you may have missed out. A party usually consisted of lots of lifted trucks, a pallet or tire fire, beer in red Solo cups, and people of all ages. They would be at a persons house, or most often held at places called "Top of the World", "Sherwood", or "The Bark Dumps." At these parties, commonly you had the high schoolers, the just out of high schoolers, the few siblings of high schoolers that may have been in middle school, and don't forget the dogs that hitched a ride in the back of someones truck. These parties included locals with nicknames that referenced fruit, bodily functions, and others. It was a sight to be seen and you were bummed if you missed a Saturday party "Out Sherwood."
Back to my story, and the party...So I asked my parents if I could stay the night at our friends house. I purposefully left out the part about my boyfriend going to stay out there too. Somehow, some way, my Mom knew better and allowed me to go "out" to the friends house but definitely not stay the night. My guess is that she had heard somewhere that there were going to be more than just girls staying out there. I will never know, but most likely it was one of her "sources". I did go out there after the dance, and we hung out, the guys drove their trucks through a mud bog and there was a tire fire, good times! Looking back, the enviromentalists would have keeled over if they knew how much smog the high school kids were causing with their weekend parties!
I didn't get my drivers license until I was 18. My take on it was that I didn't have a car anyway and between my boyfriend and best friend I always had a ride so why bother? Well to set the scene, my boyfriend always drove lifted trucks, that usually had a stereo you could hear from three blocks away at least. One of my friends had ridden somewhere with us at one point, and said she felt like she was getting a "back massage" from the booming speakers behind the seat. At this particular time, he was driving a bright yellow lifted 1978 Ford. He had taught me how to drive it, and I had convinced him that I could take it to school after lunch and bring it back afterwards. A few of my friends and I were loaded up in his truck, deemed "the yellow banana", and headed back to the high school. As we were driving onto one of the side streets..who do we see!? My parents! Man, I was busted. You couldn't miss his bright yellow truck for anything. I just waved and continued driving to the high school as quickly as possible. When I got home, I slinked in with my head down and waited for the reeming of a lifetime. My Dad said, "What's your problem??" I told him I knew that they had seen me at lunch. His response was, "I don't care, just get your license!!" Now tell me, if you lived in a big city, what would the chances be that you would see your unlicensed teenage daughter driving anywhere?
As an adult I recognize the numerous benefits of raising our children in a small town. Besides knowing what your children are doing "most of the time" by networking with other locals, you also make close friends that you have for life, you learn the values of creativity, and using your imagination when growing up and playing outside. You appreciate the simple things. If I said I didn't love visiting the city I'd be lying. I love the hustle and bustle, the many restaurants, music, and shopping. But when it comes down to it, I would prefer that we raise our son and daughter in a similar environment that we grew up in. If they experience a few tire fires in the woods, and drink out of a few red Solo cups we will have to learn how to take each situation as they come. But I wouldn't trade the advantages over the disadvantages for anything.
Embrace Your Sparkle,
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