From Ami
I usually read somewhat lighter fare than my cousin. Just finished "Sweet Dreams at the Goodnight Motel," which is included in the category of Women's Fiction. I take it Chick Lit is for twenty- and thirty-somethings, and Women's Fiction is for older women- perhaps with more of a moral lesson involved?


This book was a very sweet read. We follow a big city girl back to her hometown of Valentine, Oklahoma. The small town is painted with strokes of nostalgia, and the cast of characters is honest and hard-working, for the most part, with everyone helping everyone. Even strangers are welcome here in Valentine.


I mention this book only because I live in a town about the size of Valentine. My husband and I are tired of small town life and eager to move! We have raised our son here, in a town of 2000, where he has been allowed to roam the streets at will. We've never been worried about his safety, or where he is after dark. He has two years of high school left, after which time we plan to move away.



We were discussing the following last night, on a drive around town, as we waved at all the old people sitting on porches, the young daddies playing t-ball in the back yard with their pre-schoolers, and the kids riding skateboards down the sidewalk: We will miss waving at people we know. We will miss going down to wash the car and staying for an hour because three of our friends pulled up. We will miss standing at the cash register in the convenience store talking about the weather with local farmers. We will miss the sound of frogs singing from the two ponds in our neighborhood.

But.


Small towns are claustrophobic. They are fishbowls. They are stagnant with fifty-year-old social circles which are all but impossible to break into. There is no place to see a movie or have a nice meal.


I don't regret the time we have spent here, I just know in my heart that it's time to move forward.

~Ami