I Love Paoli, I'm Not Ashamed.

When you're six, your hometown is safety.

When you're sixteen, your hometown is a prison.

When you're thirty, having a hometown is a goal.

When you're seventy, your hometown is your resting place. 

I grew up just like most kids, not really knowing just what I had in my small hometown. Feeling trapped. Feeling like there was nothing to do and no future for me there. I was bullied in high school by people that I trusted and cared about so I begged my mom, please, let me transfer schools. She was firm and did not allow me to do so. Instead she gave me the grass-isn't-always-greener talk. It infuriated me that she wouldn't let me run from my problems. But I pressed on with high school and finished with minimal scaring. 

As an adult, Tyler and I lived in Bedford for a year and Mitchell for nearly four years. While he felt like we were 'home', I didn't. I felt like Mitchell wasn't a place I wanted to raise my family however, we tried to make a go of it. Tyler ran for school board to become active in our community and I tried to make friends at work. I encouraged the kids to join things like cheer clinic and we attended library functions in town. It just wasn't what I thought we needed. We spent all our free-time on weekends traveling back and forth to Paoli to spend time with the people we loved- our families. 

A couple of years ago, we finally had our fill. We quickly found a place to call home where I'd been longing to be, Paoli. I was relieved to enroll the girls in a school I was familiar with and for them to experience life in a small town. And the best part of moving to Paoli was our families were there. I know it sounds crazy but it sounded perfect to me. I wanted to know too much about my neighbors and let my kids walk through a backyard to play with friends. I wanted to (on occasion) spend too much time at the grocery store because I stopped to chat with people I care about.

My point to all of this is...

I've been pretty saddened by my hometown lately. Not for the reasons I'm sure you all are thinking, although yes, our losses have been tragic. I'm disappointed that with all the recent tragedy I keep hearing the same things..

Murder. Loss. Theft. Crime. Drugs. Paoli has gone downhill. Paoli is no place to raise a family. Paoli is dying a slow death. Violence is becoming a regular thing. Paoli has nothing to offer you unless you're a meth dealer.  It's the police's fault! It's the prosecutor and judges' fault!

Yes, we've lost jobs here and local businesses close regularly. Southern Indiana is one of the poorest areas in the country. Yes, drugs are more prevalent and crime is more common. Our local law enforcement and judicial system has to decide what battles to fight everyday. I know it's not an easy task. But what responsibility are we taking in all of this? And that answer is: absolutely none. We're too busy blasting our opinions on social media. Spreading hate and anger. Taking the focus of off families who are suffering by posting our own meaningless propaganda. Telling everyone how you'd make changes to improve our community but the truth is, it's just something to talk about today.

I've noticed lately that the people doing the most talking are the one's with their hands in their pockets, so here's my idea: I challenge you to do something kind or meaningful this week. Donate your time. Give a meal to a neighbor. Say something nice to someone you don't necessarily like. Buy someone's lunch in the drive-thru.Hold a door open for someone. Send a card in the mail. Let a teacher know you appreciate them. Put your change in a donation jar without questioning the cause.

And then, here's the kicker: POST IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA. I want to know you're doing good for our flailing community not just hear you whine about how it's going down the tubes. Do your part and be proud of it.

For all of you wanting to jump ship and abandon this town, go ahead. You can have your sandy beaches. I'll keep my hometown.