the house that built me ♥

I discovered this song by Miranda Lambert late last night. I fell in love with it straight away and listened to it on repeat over and over for a good 40 minutes. And I may or may not have cried the whole time.

For those of you who don't know me in real life, I grew up in a small town just outside of Montreal. When I say small town, I really do mean stereotypical small town ... farmer's fields around the corner, apple orchards, mountain, river, no McDonalds, no Starbucks, no shopping mall. Just lots of blue sky and green grass. I lived in that town for 23 years, in the same home, sleeping in the same bedroom. I grew up complaining about the fact that we lived there. Though I'm a small town girl by birth, I've always had a city girl heart and I longed for adventure and glamour and all the excitement that the city offers. I don't think I knew then just how wonderful I had it. I don't think I understood how picture perfect my childhood was.

When I heard Miranda Lambert's song and thought about the house that built me, my heart was just flooded with memories. I have a dog buried in the yard too. I had my first kiss under the oak tree near our driveway. I learned to figure skate on a homemade ice-rink that my Dad made for us in the backyard. I remember summer nights playing hide and seek in the dark with the neighborhood kids ... hours spent swinging on the swing set in the nearby park ... the smell of wood burning ... late-night campfires in the backyard ... building snow forts ... gazing up at the moon from my bedroom window. Catching the school bus at the end of my street every morning. Driving past rows of green, orange or white (depending on the season) on my way to school.

Don't get me wrong - I love my new life in the city, I really do, and I know without a doubt that this is exactly where God wants me to be. But there was something in that song that just reminded me of my small town girl roots and made me realize how much they are still a part of me. That house, that town, those experiences ... they really did build me.

I sent an email to Alan after I heard the song and I wrote: "when you get to come with me and visit the place where I grew up, I won't be able to show you fancy restaurants or museums or historical sights or monuments or tourist attractions. It won't be the type of place you will brag to your friends about having been to. You won't send anybody any postcards. But it is the place that shaped and molded me, and when you visit you will definitely see a piece of my heart everywhere you look ... in the cornfields, in the little creek at the end of my street, in the playground around the corner."

If you've ever ventured out on your own and left home to start anew then I'm sure the song will resonate with you, too. You'll understand how it feels to just want one more night in your childhood bed or one afternoon in the kitchen you ate dinner in every night for 18+ years. And if you haven't experienced moving out of your parents' home yet, please take my advice and savor every moment because one day it will just be a happy memory.

xo