Comforts of Home

I love the small town.

Or maybe it's the way I was raised in the small town. Either way, I was able to go back to the small town where I grew up for a quick trip last weekend and I was reminded of how much I love the simplicity of life there; or again, maybe it's just the way things were at my house.

My parents got Dish Network a couple of months ago and those of you who know my parents will be surprised. I know all of us kids were when the announcement was made. (why wasn't this done 10 years ago when I lived at home and could enjoy it more?) I'm not sure what I expected on my first visit since this technological addition, but I was very pleased and a little bit amused at what I found. Apparently, this is what happens on Friday nights: the lineup of movies playing is announced, interest is expressed in particular ones, and then an informal vote of sorts is taken before it is decided which movie will be watched. Interestingly enough, Mom, Dad, & 14-year-old Lincoln all had similar tastes and it wasn't the controversy one might expect from such a group. I laughed inside when I realized we would be watching "The Magnificent Seven" and "Shenandoah", two movies that I had never heard of before (and I'm married to movie-guru Jeff - go figure). I'm sure I have to explain that "The Magnificent Seven" is an old western that pulled together a strong group of actors (the only one I recognized was Yul Brynner) that played a group of seven men who, from what I could tell, saved a small town from a group of thieves & bandits. I actually enjoyed "Shenandoah", as it had one of my all-time favorite actors, Jimmy Stewart, who played a widower in Virginia during the Civil War who tried in vain to keep his large family & farm uninvolved with the war. It turned out to be quite sad, but inspiring. Needless to say, I was relieved to find that my parents were using their Dish Network to watch old movies and race horses, instead of the other junk that can be found everywhere we look.

Some other reasons I enjoyed my weekend at home:
chocolate chip oatmeal cookies that my mom made
going to Dairy Queen to visit Uncle Stanton at work (OK, we got ice cream too!)
hanging out with my little brothers and watching them play with my kids
hoping that Uncle Quinton's mission call would come (it didn't)
helping my mom in the kitchen
checking out the stock market with my dad
snow, hail, sleet, and rain all on the same day
watching my dad take care of my mom (he did all the dishes while I was there)
feeling the love and comfort that is there - in the home I grew up in

I love you, Mom, Dad, Quinton, Stanton, & Lincoln! Thanks for a fun weekend!