Good 'Ole Cherry Street/Riverside Drive

I don't know quite what has gotten into me lately, but I have recently become very nostalgic for my small hometown.  Perhaps it is the fact that I am missing so many friends' weddings, showers, the upcoming birth of my sister's third son, or just being at the lake in the summer, but I really have started missing good 'ole Arkadelphia!  Now that summer is nearing up here in Minnesota and school will be out soon (I think!) I am starting to see lots of kiddos riding their bikes, walking their dogs, etc. and it really has me thinking about my growing up on Cherry St/Riverside Drive.

I am very convinced that I grew up in the best neighborhood in the entire world--quiet street overlooking the river with lots of older kids to look up to, kids my age to play with and neighbors who welcomed us into their homes with open arms and often cookies and put up with all of our shenanigans!  We rode our bikes, jumped on the trampoline, played basketball and even got to ride in or drive our neighbor's go-cart.  I played basketball with our mailman who always called me "too-tall," and played football in our neighbor's yard with all the older boys.  We always stopped to talk to all of our neighbors when they were outside and I even got to stop by a neighbor's workshop where he would always tune up my bike and invite us in for cookies.  When I got older I always hitched a ride with my neighbors, which was always an adventure and then returned the favor once I was old enough to drive. For many of my "growing up years" I lived 1 block from my great aunt Mae and from my great Aunt Mary and literally across the street and 2 houses down from my Aunt Pet who was something like my great-great aunt.  I am sure that all of these are really unique experiences that not many people have, but it certainly made for the perfect place to grow up.

Perhaps it is that we don't have kids, but although I love our neighborhood here in Minneapolis, I don't feel quite the sense of community as I did back "home."  I often don't see any of our neighbors!  Everyone is very nice, but they all just seem more private.  Don't get me wrong, we live in a fabulous location with Minnehaha creek just behind our house, 4 tennis courts 1/2 block a way, 2 blocks from Lake Harriet, a beautiful lake with lots of walking and bike paths, and on a really quiet street--we love our neighborhood, but I just don't have the same feeling.  There is probably a component of small town vs. large city, mid-west v. south--who knows!  I just miss my old neighbors!

While my hometown was certainly the greatest place to grow up, it sounds like there are some struggles right now with how to keep it growing, or rather, keep it from declining.  I certainly hope that Arkadelphia moves in the right direction.  Anyone would be lucky to grow up in a neighborhood like the one I did!

Thanks for reading!