My family was quite the wanderers when I was growing up. It was a combination of family issues, work moves and sometimes just plain ready for new scenery. It wasn't always easy being the new kid, but I met a lot of amazing people along the way and got an intimate knowledge of a whole lot of Kansas, as well as a few locales further afield. There were a few times where we moved away and back to a town, as is the case with Emporia, where we moved away and then back for the last three years of my high school. Altogether, we lived there for a total of six years, longer than anywhere else by far. When I think of my "hometown," that is what I think of.
The long list of places I've lived. (The numbers in parentheses represent the number of houses we lived in each of those cities.)
Atlanta, Georgia (2)
Junction City, Kansas (2)
Manhattan "the little apple", Kansas (3)
Emporia, Kansas (3)
Topeka, Kansas
Heidelberg, Germany
Prairie Village, Kansas
Merriam, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lenexa, Kansas (2)
Baltimore, Maryland (5)
If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Heidelberg. We moved there with my stepdad for his post in the Army. We lived at Patrick Henry Village, an Army base outside of Heidelberg, so we were surrounded by Americans and English speakers. However, we spent a great deal of our time off base. As luck would have it, we met a family who had two daughters that were exactly my sister and I's age. They were even in our classes in school. Their parents were American civilian contractors for the Army who had chosen to live off-base. They spoke fluent German and were more than open to having their fish out of water friends along on their adventures. We traveled all over with them: skiing in Austria, weekend in Barcelona, relaxing at the spas at Baden-Baden. Despite a number of trips to Europe since, I haven't been back to Heidelberg. I have vowed that someday I will.
So how about you? Where have you lived? Link up directly to your Field Trip Friday posts!
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Having lived in the same part of Ohio my entire life (just moved from the western suburb of Cincinnati to the northern one), I can't imagine moving around as much as you did! Heidelberg sounds like a great place, and you know how much Gabe would've loved to live in Tornado Alley :)
ReplyDeleteI'm curious...does the nomadic nature of your childhood make you want to keep Sophie in one place for hers? One school, same friends, a hometown that she grew up in? Or do you want her to have a similar experience to yours?
I can't begin to imagine living in so many places. I grew up in Chicago, lived in a few different houses but always in the same area.
ReplyDeleteMoved to California 21 years ago and have lived in three different homes. Of course we did move our children when they were 7 & 9 and my daughter says it effected her a lot.
Sounds like my life! My dad was in the military.
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