Do you prefer small town living or big city lights? Me? I’ve experienced both, from growing up in a population of 500 in Farmville, U.S.A. to the hustle and bustle of Phoenix.
Both have their allure, don’t they? I have found the older I get the more I enjoy what being part of a small community brings to the table. I love the sense of community. My kids hated it. We knew where they had been, who they had been with and what they were doing. Maybe not at the exact moment (although sometimes we got that phone call too), but we found out eventually. I loved it as a parent of four.
Cultures and economics have broken the small town molds somewhat with decaying infrastructures and lost jobs. The small town quality has diminished somewhat, but the charm is still there.
Want to know what’s going on? Hit the local diner. Probably the best coffee in town and the most up-to-date gossip. Wednesday bible study helps reenergize hump day and gives an extra nudge to finish out the week with support from great friends. Nights and weekends spent at the ball field for years to come.
Falling in love isn’t the easiest in either situation. In a small town you know everyone and everyone knows your business. It’s difficult to meet new people in a big city. There are more strangers than friends. The bar scene? Forget about it.
There are certainly a lot more high school sweetheart stories where I’m from. I love those. I think they are difficult relationships to maintain. Why? Because when you are so young, you change so much as you grow into adulthood. The falling in love is the easy part. Remaining in love takes work. Not only embracing the person you have become, but embracing the changes your partner grows into as well requires true commitment.
I know in a contemporary romance you really only get to experience the act of falling in love with a peak into the after effects through the brief epilogue. It’s fun to imagine what happened afterwards. Some of my favorite series have been ones that actually write about the children of characters that have fallen in love and married.
I think there may be future books in store for Garrett’s Point down the line with that in mind.
Author Savanna Grey 