It’s no secret that Jakob’s favorite movie is Cars. He is waiting patiently for the day he gets to see Cars 2, which will be on his birthday and he would also like a Cars cake. We have watched Cars 1 however, over and over until you can recite each line with perfect intonation. The sound track is familiar and Jakob’s first choice on the juke box including a song by James Taylor called “Our Town” and the lyrics go like this:
Long ago, but not so very long ago
The world was different, oh yes it was
You settled down and you built a town and made it live
And you watched it grow
It was your town
Time goes by, time brings changes, you change, too
Nothing comes that you can’t handle, so on you go
Never see it coming, the world caves in on you
On your town
Nothing you can do.
Main street isn’t main street anymore
Lights don’t shine as brightly as they shone before
Tell the truth, lights don’t shine at all
In our town
Sun comes up each morning
Just like it’s always done
Get up, go to work, start the day,
Open up for business that’s never gonna come
As the world rolls by a million miles away
Main street isn’t main street anymore
No one seems to need us like they did before
It’s hard to find a reason left to stay
But it’s our town
Love it anyway
Come what may, it’s our town.
It sounds all too familiar in this little town of Three Hills. Half the buildings on Main Street stand empty and main street itself often feels deserted. But there is a charm and a spirit that hides in the shadows and pops it’s leery head out every once and a while….like on parade day.
Crowds line the streets as the kids run out to fill their buckets full of candy…because out here, a float is not a float unless there is candy. You can be driving a run of the mill beater but if you have candy, you’re a winner!
As an outsider looking in, you can catch a glimpse of the way things used to be, with men gathered round, drinking coffee after the morning chores. And it’s chance to show off what was.
And what is.
To be a kid again…
We have one week left in this little town. And while this city girl will be glad to have a break from rural life I have appreciated Three Hills and the unique beauty of Alberta. I have been trying to capture what I know I will miss…or forget, like harvest moons over open fields
The mysteries hidden in the badlands
And rickety bridges over slow moving rivers.
Alberta. The place where I met my husband and my dear Ella was born.
We leave thankful for the experiences that we have had and the friends that we have made. I am sooooooo thankful for the support that we have been showered with as we have given Ella the best that we were able.
Like her ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist who on Monday, under general anaesthetic examined Ella’s ears only to find out that Ella didn’t have fluid after all: just a whole lot of wax that was causing a whole lot of confusion.
Praise the Lord.
We couldn’t ask for better circumstances or a healthier little girl! Or boy for that matter. We are blessed.
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