Who Says You Can't Go Home

I'm back in my hometown for the next few days. There's never enough time for me to get to see everyone that I want to. Fortunately what brought me to town was a wedding, so I know I'll get to see a lot of my family. I love where I grew up, in a town directly north of Rhode Island's capital. North Providence is a long narrow area with a main road that is a bear to travel on a Saturday or a Friday night. Fortunately I still remember all the backroads. I went to the local elementary school. The first of the children of my Dad's family to do so. After having taught my dad, aunts, and uncles, I was constantly asked by the teachers at Marieville Elementary School if I was related to so-and-so. The only teacher I had that hadn't taught any of my relatives was my kindergarten teacher - and that was because we were her first class. For the teachers that had my aunts, they would occasionally slip. Mrs. Miller called me Lorri, to Mrs. Snyder and Mrs. Zona I was Patty. I still remember the first time Mrs. Dresner asked - you're Louie Mancone's daughter? It was interesting to learn from these teachers who had also taught my aunts and uncles. I was the first of their children, and I certainly wasn't the last. The ones who came after me then had to deal with - you're related to Nichole?

That lasted pretty much through my years at MES. I bailed on attending junior high and high school in my hometown, opting instead to attend BayView, a catholic girls school. The thing I loved most about growing up where I did was that my family was all around. I saw them all the time. I wasn't one of those people who had cousins they'd never met, or aunts they never saw. I saw everyone, all the time. I grew up with my cousins. If I was going down the street it was to pop into my aunt's house, or my grandparents'. I have to say, that's one of the best things about living in Rhode Island - you can get anywhere in the state in less than an hour (I wonder how many Rhode Islands could fit in Texas?). All that to say that I love coming home to visit. There's usually something new to see (the wind turbine of 95 anyone?), the chance to eat some of my favorite foods (twins pizza...chowder and clam cakes...), and time see my family.