The people you know

I've said it before, but my parents have lived in my hometown for my whole life. My dad moved there with his family in the ninth grade, went away to college and then brought my mom here when they got married. They moved to Nashville for nine months before I was born, but otherwise they have been here.

Since I've spent the last 10 years moving all over the Midwest and South, I forget that staying in one place means knowing a lot of people there.

My parents have more of a social life than I do, and over the course of the 10 days I was there, I attended three parties and a wedding. Very few of the guests at the events overlapped.

And then we would go out to lunch, and my mom would know everyone in the restaurant. Granted, I knew quite a few as well.

My sister and I were at the mall and ran into people, then went to the movies and saw three families we know. The Christmas Eve service at church was packed with people I have known most of my life. Even a trip to the gym, which is located in my old middle school, results in seeing three people I know.

Of course, after 10 days of this, I became a master at explaining my latest move and job in under a minute.

When I was a kid, I used to hate that my mom knew everyone and everyone knew me. But after so many moves, it is comforting to come home to a place where everyone is familiar and there are so many people that love you and care about you.