“With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?”

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I found this quote from Oscar Wilde on a card stuck between books on my library shelf. Justin gave it to me the day we left New York. Inside were two lists, one describing the things he’d miss about New York and one cataloging the things he looked forward to doing together in Henderson. The first list was sad. The second was hilarious—especially with two years here under my belt.

We’d never have guessed how much we’d like Small Town, Tennessee. But we do. Walking down Main Street last night, celebrating barbeque with a coffee in hand after watching a girls’ volleyball game, I couldn’t help imagining myself in an episode of the Gilmore Girls. And it’s like that all the time. I take the girls out for a walk and I feel like we’re living Sesame Street, waving at everyone we pass, stopping in to see the owners of the Chinese Restaurant, chatting with the postwoman.

This is not the life I imagined for myself. But with the smell of smoked meat in the air, smiling people all around, funnel cakes, and the moon, who could not be happy?