Small town love

Today I am sitting in my childhood home in Madera. For those of you who know me, I speak of Madera quite frequently and with great fondness. In fact, I truly think Madera is the place to be, as if it were a hot spot that Hollywood is destined to find and love just as much as I do.

I think a lot about how living here "made me who I am today" ( the often muttered cliche) and the friendships I was able to form...and surprisingly keep. There are a group of girlfriends that I have whom I have known for almost 20+ years and counting. What a blessing to have friends who stand by you no matter what/where/who you are and all the life stuff that happens in between. We have seen it all throughout our years of friendship.

When I was thinking of the love I have for my hometown, I realized there are several things that keep my heart tied here- my mom, my mom's cooking and my girlfriends. I truly love these girls, and I say girls because they will always be "my girls". The girls who had big bangs and frizzy hair but were still cool to me. The girls who would squeeze into one bed so we could stay up late talking about boys. The girls who came together when tragedy struck in our lives. The girls who stood by me and each other when we got married. And of course the girls who I fell in love with years and years ago at Camp Fire Camp, tennis, catechism and high school.

I guess that's why I love Madera and always will.