Arkansas Born and Bred

 

          Saw a blog prompt to write about where you grew up. Well, I grew up in Arkansas. So I consider myself a southern lady. I speak with an accent, I love sweet tea, I enjoy simple things, I am polite, and I like things to be easy going. I found a nice picture of the state that shows all the towns I lived in LOL. I was born in Malvern, spent a few years in DeQueen, I lived the longest in Little Rock. I got married there, went to college there, and had my son there. I also lived in Jonesboro, and last but not least, I lived in Hot Springs right before moving to Florida. 

        Each place was great. Malvern is a very small town. Everybody knows everybody LOL. That is where my mom grew up. Most of my relatives in Arkansas live there. I remember visiting my grandparents there and getting to go to Piggly Wiggly for groceries LOL loved that name. DeQueen is where I had to grow up quickly. I think I was in first and second grade there. My mom had to work a lot, so my brother and I were latch key kids. I was babysitting him when I was just a baby myself. I was convinced my house was haunted, so at night I made him sing to me LOL. 

           I spent most of my years in Little Rock. That is where my dad's side of the family lived. I met my ex husband there. When I was 26 I had my amazing son and my whole life changed. He inspired me to become something so that I could take care of him. It was tough, but I got my BSN nursing degree at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. For about a year, while getting divorced and facing custody issues, I lived in Jonesboro. It was pretty there, but lonely. We did not stay long. I took a break from Arkansas for a few years and lived in Nevada.

        When my daughter was one year old, we moved back to Arkansas, and lived in Hot Springs. It was so pretty there. I liked it a lot.  There was quite a bit to do there. There was this fantastic garden to go explore, downtown had all sorts of cute shops, everything was nice and close. We got tornado warnings to keep it interesting LOL. There was a hot spring where you could actually go and fill up water bottles to take home. It was very relaxing living there.

           I am not sure why we moved away, but we did. Looking back, part of me wishes we had stayed, but Florida is our home now, and we like it. Lots to do here, I have an awesome house, it is hurricane season, so we have fun weather LOL. I get to have pets. Most important, my kids love it. By the end of my life, I will most likely have lived the longest in Florida, but I will always consider myself an Arkansas girl :)