Not to long ago, I did what everyone across the country is doing and jumped on the Facebook bandwagon. One of the things that surprised me (once I figured out how to work the damn thing) was the number of people that I went to high school with who wanted to be my friend. I must have been better liked than I thought.
It wasn’t just the people that were in my class from high school (all 53 of us), it was people from the grades above and below as well that really surprised me. People that were older than me but I was friends with their siblings or my younger brothers friends. I’m not sure if this is a common thing or if it is one of those special things about small towns, but I’ve found I actually enjoy finding out what people I knew 10 years ago have done with their lives.
A lot of people have left Thompson Falls and have gotten married, had kids, have a good job, you know the “normal” things one does after high school. Something I wasn’t prepared for was the realization that I was an outlier in this world. While I typically have one or two college degrees more than them, I am not married (nor am I close) and am very much still in the “renting” phase regarding kids. [Renting kids: (v.) when one enjoys spending small periods of time with other peoples children but also enjoys being able to give them back when the child screams, cries, smells, or when one gets bored.] The point here being that I really like my life the way it is. It wasn’t what I had planned on, but so far I’m enjoying the way things are working out.
The thing is, while I’m an outlier for many of the people I attended high school with, I’m pretty normal in my Portland social groups. I’m one of the few singles still around, but it’s not a big deal and there are usually a few of us. And very few of my friends have kids yet. I fit very well into my own niche that I’ve carved out here in Portland.
What really surprises me are the people that have chosen either to stay, or to come back to, Thompson Falls. I grew up there, my parents still live there, there are very few jobs, and it is in the middle of nowhere. Seriously, you can’t even buy underwear that doesn’t come in a 6 pack in that town. What on earth is the appeal for these young people to want to move back and raise their families there? I haven’t figured it out yet, but I really like reading the “wall-to-wall” messages on those people’s Facebook pages. The messages where they coordinate lunch or offer to watch the others child and talk about going to the places in town I grew up with.
The life they have chosen is something so totally foreign to me and something I have never wanted for myself. It reminds me though, that there are many paths in life and one isn’t necessarily better than the other, just different. And while I enjoy a glimpse at what life would be like living in Thompson as a young person, it makes me very glad I am right where I am at.
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