Here in St. Louis a common question among the population is "What high school did you go to?" I'm not sure why this, of all questions to ask, is the biggest, but it is. I have lived here almost twelve years now, and I can't tell you how many times I've been asked that question. WHY? I don't get it, but anyway... The conversation usually comes to a screeching halt when I answer Holdenville High School. I get some of the funniest looks and then I follow up with "you have never heard of it...it is a small rural town in southern Oklahoma." Then there it is, the "ah ha" expression on their face that usually leaves me grinning inside. After that takes place one of two things happen. A) They either nod their head and the conversation is done or B) they continue with further questions about Oklahoma (although, I have had a couple of instances where they actually knew where I was talking about, and that just creeped me out.) Anyway...If B happens I usually give them a brief "in a nut shell" version of my story. BUT for those of you who don't know and are curious...here is the longer version of ME.
I spent most of my childhood in a small southern Oklahoma town called Holdenville...population 4,732 (according to the 2000 census). Holdenville is one of those town where everyone know everyone else, and when someone is in trouble the whole town talks about it. Everywhere you go, someone waves a "Oklahoma howdy." It really makes one feel welcome. Some of the features of Holdenville include a WalMart with a McDonalds (yes that is a big thing to those of us who live(d) there), a Sonic drive in, and if memory serves me right, there used to be a Subway located inside of a Citgo gas station. BUT in this little town it really isn't all about the retail chains it is about all the Mom and Pop stores. I must give a shout out to David's mini market, which was the hang out spot at lunch time for high school students...they have the best cheese balls and burritos with garlic dressing. YUM! Ok....back to the subject. Holdenville is a big part of me. It is what made me who I am today. Growing up it was just my mom and I living in a small house in Holdenville. She worked as a waitress at one of the local restaurants. We never had much money, but managed to survive on what little we had. I went through grade school, middle school, and high school in the same town and my graduating class was roughly 72 people. I wasn't in the most popular clique in school, but I was ok with that because the friends I had were genuine friends, most of which I still speak with today. I wasn't really the partier and those parties I did go to I mostly just sat and laughed at others "enjoying" themselves a little too much. I wasn't much of a trouble maker, and just enjoyed Friday nights dragging main street with my girls and looping through Sonic repetitively. We did this for hours in my beat up 1989 Ford Tempo. Every once in a while, we'd get bored with looping through Sonic and go on down to WalMart to turn around and make the loop again. It was not super exciting, but we had fun doing it. I was very involved in my highschool honor choir. We were called Limited Edition, and we did very well in competitions. I was not athletic or a cheerleader or even a band geek, I was simply a singer, and still am today. Growing up, I was very involved in church (I still am today). I attended a small church called First Church of God. I sang on the praise team, was a part of the youth and eventually met my husband to be there, but I will save that story for another blog. Believe me, it is a good one so you may want to read it after I post it. Even though I do not live in my comfy hometown of Holdenville Oklahoma, I still love to visit. It brings back so many memories. I do miss the quiet small town, but am really enjoying the suburban life. There is sooo much more I could put, but this is a blog not a book. As with any family situation, there were happy times, and there were sad times, but all in all everything we go through in life makes us who we are. I am just fortunate to have turned out the way I am. I wouldn't change the story of ME for anything. I have learned so much in my thirt...(cough cough) thirty years on this earth. I thank God for getting me this far in life, and I am excited to see what the future holds. He has blessed me with three wonderful children and an excellent husband. I couldn't of had these things without God and the life's experiences I've been through. So now you know the story of ME! What you see is what you get!
