Day 22-Favorite city

How about favorite town?  Okay then.  Sugarcreek, Ohio.

I like to say I'm a city suburbs girl.  I think I probably am, but the idea of living in a town like Sugarcreek is enchanting.  My dad's aunt lives there and we try to visit once a year.  It's a place where you know everybody and it's so "small town", the big news of the decade was when they got a McDonalds.  When we're there visiting, we go somewhere, like say, the local restaurant, and the hostess will say, "You must be Helen's family."  Why yes we are, how did you know?  Well, seriously, you don't say the latter because they will usually start asking about California, since they already know we're from California.  It's fine we say, we don't want to tell them what a dump it has truly become.  Side track.

I think the whole shoveling snow and below freezing temperatures in the winter thing in a place like Sugarcreek might get to me, because I really enjoy the warm California weather we have (although lately it feels anything less than warm- but that's a 60 degrees mind you!).  What's in Sugarcreek you're probably wondering.  I will tell you.  Amish, farms, a "downtown" area with crafty shops and the like, a glorious restaurant called Dutch Valley where they serve my favorite peanut butter pie, and of course, also in Sugarcreek is my lovely lovely Aunt Helen (who I think puts illicit drugs in her homemade cookies because they are so addicting and delicious.... I'M JUST KIDDING NO SHE DOESN'T THEY ARE JUST REALLY REALLY GOOD!)

When we usually make our way to the small town, it is summer, or spring.  The weather is beautiful and the sun is shining.  In the summer the sun is out until 10 pm.  They sell fireworks before the 4th of July in a neighboring town, but you have to swear you are going out of state to shoot them or fire them or whatever it is you do with fireworks, because it's illegal there to shoot them off, so we buy them and swear, and then Aunt Helen let's us shoot them off in her driveway.  She watches, ready with the hose in case something goes wrong.  So far, we have a good record.

We are going again to Sugarcreek very soon and I cannot wait.  Matthew will love watching the Amish buggies go by, and we will have to take him to the auction barn to see the livestock.  I'll probably get him a little Amish boy straw hat.  We will sit with Aunt Helen while she crotches and watches the Indians play, and parade around town and show him off to the locals, which I will love, what mom doesn't love to show off her kidlet?  Perhaps he will wave at one of those passing buggies.

Sugarcreek always reminds me of the simple life.  It's not what you own, who you wear, or what you drive, it's about love and relationships and people.  It's really all that simple.