Spread the love
Just the other morning…I realized how much I appreciate living in Moulton, AL…the town of my birth…and raising…as we say in the south…
Moulton, AL…the same town that I’ve spent most of my life trying to get out of…but always seem to come home to…
I’ve been back six years this time…and looks like I’ll be here a while longer…and that’s okay…the wanderlust of my younger years has past…there is just something about seeing the same things that I’ve seen over and over again since my youth…that has become soothing…it’s like the town has a rhythm…a music…of its own…
Like all towns…it is changing…old landmarks are coming down…and new ones are going up…it’s happening at a pace that works…sort of like growing old…you just don’t notice what’s happening…until one day you are…and then…it seems natural enough…
And…I realize…that like the town…I am changing at a pace that works for me as well…some of my old…well-worn…comfortable habits are coming down…and new unfamiliar ones…are taking their place…
There is something so comforting about knowing…and being known…it suits me…so…why…I wonder…did I leave so many times…what was that wanderlust all about…
I can’t totally answer that…but…I think it had something to do…with not feeling like here was enough…that I wasn’t enough…and…that somehow…I could be more…somewhere else…
What I’ve found out…over the years…is what Mama knew before I left…where ever you go…you take yourself with you…you can be happy or sad…rich or poor…educated or illiterate…wherever you are…
It’s who you are…not where you are…that makes the difference…
So…do I love all the changes in the town…not totally…I miss the old Star Theater…even though it’s been empty some 40 years…but…the new Courthouse will be wonderful…and was much needed…
Do I love all the changes in me…not totally…I miss some of my old habits…even though they haven’t served me in about as long…but…I really do embrace…the new habits…they are wonderful…and much needed…
Jane
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I loved this post. My family came here in 2004. My husband’s new job in Madison brought us to Northern Alabama. But we came from my small hometown and were immediately overwhelmed by the prices to rent in Madison and even DECATUR. We had searched for almost a week when we got up one morning downtrodden yet determined and went to the IHOP in DECATUR. Our waitress was so sweet and had an open sweet personality and got us to share our plight. And ( in we thought then to be a very strong Southern accent) said have you tried Moulton? She told us a little about the town and where it was and we felt renewed with excitement and after breakfast we travelled out to Moulton. As we got close to town all the medians were full of beautiful wild flowers to welcome us ( never have I seen the medians ever like that again). But this “Moulton” was definitely a small close knit community. We did not know anyone to call about renting in this small town because like with most small towns you found out about rentals by word of mouth and we didn’t know anyone. So I called a realtor and asked if they had rentals which they did not but the lady was kind and gave us the name of the rental guru for the town. He said he did have a place open and told us it was a high rent because it was in one of the nicer neighborhoods. ( it was almost $400 dollars cheaper than apartments in Madison and DECATUR) He brought us to a home that we knew God had for us. It was a three bedroom house with two bathrooms and a wonderful sized yard and true to his word the neighborhood was wonderful. I was so excited that my husband took me aside and told me calm down before the guy raised the rent! We have maintained our place in the neighborhood and even though everyone pretty much lives their own lives we know we can count on our neighbors. My husband has an hour commute but he doesn’t mind because we feel that God led us to our hometown in Alabama. By the way we went back to IHOP to thank the waitress and described her to the other workers but they all said no one by that description had ever worked there.
Oh, Julie… I’m so excited that you found a home in Moulton and that you are happy here. I was just saying today that we may be a small town, but we are a short drive from almost anything you could want to do. We drove two hours to Mentone and enjoyed the mountains and the changing leaves. Just lovely!