Our Fair City.

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My family moved to Ohio the summer I was turning 8. Everyone knows I have a horrible memory but even I remember thinking....what is in Ohio? Who lives in Ohio? Isn't that just some random place you go through to get from where you WERE to where you ARE going?

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To add insult to injury, in my young brain, I remember thinking, "Why are we living in the cornfields?" My parents, at the time, wanted something away from city life, quiet and serene.

They moved us to a five acre plot of land on which stood a rather unassuming small ranch house an acre down a rocky lane, surrounded by walnut trees and a thick forest behind a smaller backyard. On either side of that were cornfields and farmers, for the most part. I did the rest of my growing up there, where there were not kids on every corner like in the suburbs, only a handful of friends a bike ride away down the whole mile long stretch of our country road.

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After talking to my sisters pretty extensively about it, I know they found it pretty idyllic. A small happy town we grew up in, and it was isolated from much of the current day issues teenagers face.

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Anyway.. although it was quiet and nice, I do remember wishing to live in a larger city...with more going on...I don't think I even understood at the time what that really meant, but either way I wanted more. Now I can look back and see the life my parents chose, that it came with sacrifice. It certainly was not the easy way to live. My dad was a aeronautical engineer who was an officer in the US Air Force, and his commute to the base in the city was around 45 minutes one way every day. He still makes that commute to the city every single day, working as a civilian after retirement.

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They had a gigantic garden every year and fruit trees. It was a lot of work! My mom was a great homemaker, especially with baking and canning! I remember having to help with that growing up, and she was pretty consistent making delicious things for us. I wish I had more of that natural skill now!

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What I am getting at, really, is that I know a lot of people wonder what is in Ohio? What makes people stay and raise a family? After Mark and I were married, he was in school to become a Dentist (at OSU!) , and I thought "NO WAY are we living HERE forever!!" I want to live by the ocean, south, or in a big city. NOT HERE!

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After graduation we moved. And then we moved again. Finally, after being married for about 9 years, and living in 5 cities all over the country, we moved back (for what will be possibly the last time!) to the the Midwest.

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We have lived in our small community adjacent to a the capital of our state for four years now!

We live in what is called the "historic uptown area" and have such a wonderful quality of life! I really feel like we have found that perfect balance between country and city life.

We paid peanuts (compared to other large cities) for a rather large historic home, and have worked so hard to make it our own..as most of you KNOW well! We have the feel of a smaller (no, not as small as the one I grew up in...) community, but access to the finer urban things too! Broadway productions, world class symphony, impressive array of shopping, and practically instant, easy access to pretty much anything we need or want to do!

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Once in a while it's nice to get recognized for that! CNN Money has ranked our town at number 15 in the country in their 2009 rankings of best small towns in America!

This town is proving to be a wonderful choice for our family, and although we don't live on the ocean as I may have once dreamed (there's always retirement, right?)...we have a pretty idyllic lifestyle right here, and I feel blessed to have it!

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Congratualtions Westerville!