You know you live in a small town when...

I've been thinking a lot about how my life has changed so much in the last couple of years and it might sound unbelievable to those who know me the most, but I love living the country life. There was probably some betting that went on before I left Calgary on how long I'd last in Minburn. They gave me 6 months! In fact, this is what my sister said:

Me: I enjoy living in the country!
Sister: Hell must've frozen over.

Well, I proved them all wrong. I think it's the best decision we've made as a family. What brought on all this thinking, you might ask? This...

You know you live in a small town when:
-The town newspaper is published monthly
-The town is named after everyone's distant relative.
-There's no hospital-only a first aid kit
-For fun on Saturday nights, people drive up and down main street.
-There's no bank... as soon as someone gets enough money, they leave.
-The only traffic jams are caused when a farmer drives down Main Street on his combine.
-The local phone book has only one yellow page.
-Hardware, Dry Goods, Grocery, Clothing and farm supplies are all sold at the same store.
-Third Street is on the edge of town
-No social events are scheduled when the school gym floor is being varnished.
-You call a wrong number and they supply you with the correct one.
-Everyone knows all the news before it's published.People read the paper to see whether the publisher got the facts right.
-The city limits signs are both on the same post.
-The only road crossing Main Street is a dirt road.
-The one-block-long Main Street dead ends in both direction
-You were in 4-H.
-You know what 4-H is.
-You said the 'f' word and your parents knew within the hour.
-It is normal to see an old man riding through town on a riding lawnmower.
-You decide to walk somewhere for exercise and 5 people pull over and ask if you need a ride.
-You don't give directions by street names or directions by references (turn by Nelson's house, go two blocks east Anderson's, and it's four houses left of the track field).
-You give directions using "the" stop light as a reference.
-The country club golf course had only 9 holes.

(haha! I just had to take a picture of that!)
-You refer to anyone with a house newer than 1980 as the "rich people"
-The city council meets at the coffee shop.
-The closest McDonald's is 45 miles away.
-So is the closest mall.
-Weekend excitement involves a trip to a Wal-Mart.


I love it here, I really do. I find that the people are friendlier, the air is fresher, the grass is greener.