My husband and I recently moved from a city north of Dallas to find home in Whitesboro, Texas. This country setting is a daily journey of re-discovering the simple joys of what I call, town time.
People who have never lived in the sticks, or in small, rural communities find it hard to understand the value of an understated lifestyle. Here, your daily routine is sipped rather than guzzled; the pace is more like that of thick molasses than thin, runny syrup. The taste of life is more like homemade lemonade served in sunshine rather than expensive wine served in a stuffy restaurant. Away from noisy, city distractions, it is easier to hear God’s voice and feel his directive guidance. This is a life packed with an earthy undercurrent some may find boring. For a corporate city girl and city boy with country in our hearts, this is heaven.
Within two weeks, I visited almost every boutique along main street. Each is a nook to nest in long enough to catch up on local news. Each shop has a distinctive feel, but they all deliver a warm greeting, a yes ma’am or yes sir response to your questions, sincerity with service, and an offer to help you carry packages to your car.
Whether a food truck, just off Union Street or a café on Main Street, I’ve found there is a natural drift to the way people move in and out of tableside conversations between neighbors and strangers alike. Words are not weapons here. Instead, they are used to create a current of trust, to bind people to each other, to elevate old fashioned principles, to magnify the beauty of living a less complicated life.
The cafés reflect the comfort of homestyle food served with an ah-shucks kindness seasoned with home spun southwestern charm. It doesn’t matter what is on the menu, even the simplest food tastes better in a small town. The clocks look the same here, but I swear they run slower. So don’t get fussy if your meals are served in step with rural timing.
Wanting to give back to our new community, my husband and I drove some crates of canned food and other staples over to the local food bank along with some home décor that could be sold in the adjacent Thrift Store. Busy volunteers quickly helped us unload our donations with an enthusiasm and a level of appreciation we found surprising and refreshing.
Our new home has been the host of many service providers: package delivery reps, septic tank specialists, home builders to AC engineers. They are productive, not busy. We appreciate their competence; we especially respect the probity of their support as it is rare these days.
Back at our new house, we listen to the coyotes sing to us at night and watch the deer and road runners wander about our parcel of American liberty – a home on some land - as freely as the cattle and horses roam on the ranches around us. As often as possible, we end each hard-working day sitting by our outdoor fireplace where we watch the sunsets dazzle us with a showy peacock display of vivid colors often overshadowed in city lights. Each sunset feels like a good night hug in the quiet countryside. It is then my husband and I are reminded that town time living is truly a blessing. Thank you, Whitesboro for the warm welcome.
