Hello! This is Courtney from vintch. I live in a little cottage way out in the country with my husband
Robert, our dog Pablo and our ’71 camper bus whom I secretly refer to as Dorothy in my mind, but
Robert believes has more of a male energy.
There’s something that defines me:
I live in the type of town most people leave.
A tiny community nestled between three mid-sized cities, you can drive through Wallburg, North Carolina in just a few miles. And a majority of those miles will be through farmland. Through hills of corn and soybeans and tobacco. You’ll pass old men sitting on plastic chairs outside the gas station, and little brick homes scattered along the side of the road.
When I tell people I never left, that I still live here, only two miles from where I was raised, they always ask why. There are better job opportunities in Raleigh. A better nightlife in Greensboro. Artsy coffee shops and better restaurants in Winston-Salem.
But when I sit on my glider at night, I can see the stars. There are no city glows in the way and no high-rises. Life moves slower here, and it’s savored. I work in a big city, about half an hour away. When I come home, the only thing I want to do is slip on some shorts and go for a walk to my parents’ house with Robert and Pablo.
Because when I look around, I don’t see the missed opportunities. The potential that just wasn’t. The fact that I could be in a bigger house, with a bigger paycheck and a bigger career if we hadn’t returned here.
Rather, I see a town rooted in love and grounded in a sense of community. In the idea that rising with the sun is virtuous and staying out until sundown picking tomatoes and digging up potatoes is not a day wasted. And I see beauty in the structures and little spaces and open places of home.
I wouldn’t be me anywhere else.
I feel it when the word “y’all” rises from my lips. When I pull on my worn tank top and go outside to pull weeds at seven in the evening. When hydrangea blooms and strawberry picking season remind me that summer is here. My roots are here. Chosen and planted for me long before I had any say in the matter. And I’m bound to this land. These people and these old buildings. And I’ll raise my children in the sunshine and wheat fields, and hope against all hope that they’ll return to me. And tothis place. This special, sacred, simple space.
So beautifully written, as always. This post makes me wish I never left the small, drive thru town where I attended college!
Courtney, I’ve seen you around the blogiverse posting comments on other blogs. It’s a pleasure to meet you here! What you wrote is beautiful. It is reassuring to know that there are still people like you in this world. Clearly you’ve got your priorities straight and understand what’s really important in life. I am very happy for you and your delightful family!
Great country living post my NC neighbor. I am not from SC but I have traveled through the south quite a bit while here and have seen exactly what you described. It’s so relaxed compared to NJ and CT. Great post.
Lovely to see you here today, Courtney. You know already how much I love your blog, and the wisdom of your words never fails to amaze me. Life is slow where I live as well, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Let me tell you this, you, Robert and Pablo have got it just right my friend.
beautifully said as always.
i grew up in a small town in Texas and every time you write about your town it makes me miss my small town…there are things that a small town has to offer that you cant get anywhere else (PS I love a lady who says y’all)
ahh she writes so beautifully as always xo gorgeous
you are so darling for featuring me, kristina. thank you from the bottom of my little country heart:) xoxo
Beautifully written, Courtney! I know how much you love your small town life and I don’t blame you. As long as you have this clear and sweet perspective, I think your children will return to you.
XO,
Jane
Just sweet. My city is a bit bigger, but I still feel the same way. I live half a mile from the house I was raised. 🙂
I know exactly what she means.