Small Town Girl

I was so excited because Luke and I were listening to Kellie Pickler's Small Town Girl this past weekend when suddenly Luke exclaimed, "Sarah, this could be you!" I never found a country song that sang me life's story, but when I payed more attention to the lyrics of Small Town Girl, I agreed with Luke that this one came pretty close!

I grew up where I could see the stars
Drinkin sweet tea from a Mason jar
Dogwood trees like leaves through the pine
People on the porch watchin fireflies
And drivin 'round the Wal-Mart on a Friday night
I do have such a fascination with the stars and I have a particular love of the Orion constellation. Whenever I arrive home in the dark, the warrior and his blazing belt always greet me from the sky.

And on the subject of tea... I never knew that anyone besides me drank tea from Mason jars. My family will never let me forget that when I was home-schooled I would often start the day by heading to my room with a quart Mason jar of tea that would be consumed by lunch. I felt so affirmed that Kellie Pickler thinks it is okay to drink tea from jars and not tea cups.

Hmm, the Wal-Mart connection is a little harder to apply to my life. Let's just say I would rather spend my Friday nights driving around somewhere else.

I'd rather be fishin' with grandpa on the lake
Then getting all glammed up,
Fake eyelashes on my face
Cut off jeans and an old ball cap
A town so small you don't need a map
That's where I'm from and there ain't no changing me

My girlhood contains many memories of fishing at the back pond, and, yes, I don't think that I cared how I looked when I was fishing. I did care about the worms and my empathy often made it very difficult to fish because I found it very cruel to string the worm on the hook. This made it necessary for me to always fish with someone, preferably someone who didn't mind putting the worms on my hook. (Surprisingly I don't remember ever feeling too badly for the fish that got caught. Maybe that was because I always put them back in the pond when I was done catching them.)

Oh, and about eyelashes... I have never worn fake eyelashes and never plan to try. I think that the first date scene in Yours, Mine and Ours (that old wonderful movie with Lucille Ball), convinced me a long time ago that fake eyelashes are never a good idea.

I'd rather ride in a Chevy truck than a Ferrari
Give me a cheeseburger
I ain't eatin no calamari

Yes, our family's Chevy Suburban is far better than any Ferrari that I have never even sat inside. The unfortunate part of Kellie Pickler's description of me is that she forgot that I actually like fried calamari, maybe even more than cheeseburgers. I think the lyrics just didn't rhyme that way.

Coca-cola and apple pie
Dirt roads and old clothes lines
Familiar faces and dandelion bracelets
You never meet a stranger
And everybody helps out
Soft green grass, Sunday school and wild flowers

Nail on the head! I inherited my father's love of clothes hung neatly on a line to dry. And how did Kellie Pickler know that right beyond the clothesline where I have hung many loads of laundry, there is an old dirt road that leads to fields full of dandelions? Oh, and on the subject of dandelion bracelets...when I was in fourth grade I had to be in a talent show at my school. My talent? I taught my classmates how to make bracelets and crowns from flowers (I used daisies because they were in season).

I'm just a small town girl
And that's all I'll ever be
I'm just a small town girl
Hey, that's all right with me

Yes, it is a fulfilling day when a country song finally sings your story.