Only In A Small Town

Not only do we live on a farm, but we live in a very rural area. We have 2 policemen who take turns sharing the duties of the 4 small towns that make up our school district. And even with those 4 towns (and including the kids from the areas surrounding our district who open-enroll) my son still only has 50+ kids in his entire grade.

Living in/near small towns has advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is the fun you can have freaking your kids out.

On Tuesday, Chelsea went in to vote. I had invited her to go with Jay and I, but evidentally that was about as cool as getting matching outfits with your mom, and she decided to sneak out before we even knew it. She called me when she had finished and said they had Ashleys name highlighted stating she was voting by absentee ballot.

It's true that Ashley had sent in for one, but that was because you just never know if the weather will cooperate this time of year, and she wanted to be sure she could still have the option to vote, if the forecast indicated she wouldn't be able to drive back.

When Jay and I went in to vote, we didn't have to wait in line, which is another perk about living here. We walked right in, and we saw the same familiar faces we always see on election days. We didn't have to state our names, they just handed me the little slip to fill out as the one lady said "Here you go Dena. Oh and we saw Chelsea in here earlier. I just can't believe those girls are old enough to vote already. My she sure has grown into such a beautiful young lady. Will we see Ashley too?".

After I finished voting and getting my "I Voted" sticker, I found out that Ashley needed to bring her absentee ballot and all the other paperwork that came with it, to surrender it so she could vote. I quickly called Ashley to tell her, and she said she she already knew that, because she had read that on one of the sheets that came with her ballot. I'm sure she was thinking "Duh mom, I am in college you know".

We chatted with the ladys at the election site for a little bit, and as we left one woman said "We'll be anxious to see Ashley when she gets here. Any messages for her?" I said "No" and then stopped, turned back around and said "Yea. Tell her to get her skinny little butt home to see her mom and dad one of these days." They all laughed and one said "Can we really say that?" I let them know that was fine, and heck, they could even embellish if they wanted to. Then we left and went home.

About an hour later, Ashley called me. "Moooooom. Oh my gosh. You and dad are just so weird. I said "Sweetie...you're going to have to get specific about which weird thing we've done, if I'm to have any clue what you're talking about." She sighed as she asked "What did you tell those people?" I (acting like I have no idea what she could be talking about) asked what the problem was, and she said "Ok, I go in the voting place and one lady said "Hi Ashley." and I was like Whoa, you know me? One said I had grown up pretty and looked just like my sister. I mean, hello...we are twins so yea, we look alike, but how does she even know who I am? Another lady said I should go see my parents more often. How do they know you and how would they know I haven't been home much? And one even said I had a skinny butt that I needed to take home. That's how I knew you guys were involved! Mom, seriously. You and dad are just too weird!"

Only in a small town can you have this kind of fun.