Tifton, you will always be home.

For 20 years I lived in sweet little Tifton. It was the kind of place where you could just cross into the county line and felt the pace of life slow down. I always looked forward going home in college, because it meant little cell service, slow pace and friendly faces. You do not realize how much different other places are until you move.

Tifton was the place.

Oh man, how I love that town. Everyone knew everyone. Blue Devil spirit ran deep and no question what you were doing on a Friday night. The sound of the train was calming and the smell of farm animals was normal.

Tifton was home.

When I went to college, people would ask where are you from. See that is not easy to answer, when no one has really heard of Tifton. But, "The Reading Capital of the World" was the place to be.

Tifton was unique.

Tifton taught me to love. Tifton taught me to drive. Tifton taught me to read. Tifton taught me how to make friends. Tifton taught me.

For the first time, calling "Home" is not a 229 number.

Instead, "Home" is where family is. Home is now an hour down the road. Home is now where I can see my parents more frequent and include them in my life here. Home is now where we can all gather and eat mom's cooking on a weekend. Home is family.

All 6 of us gathered at Mom and Dad's new place to help unpack. All 6 of us now live within 2 hours of each other.

Tifton will never be forgotten. But home, is now a little closer.

But, 2409 will always be special to our family.

A Tifton treat

Nothing says welcome home, then a big white box full of these.

Mi-Lady has been around Tifton since 1959, 52 years of these babies. You can try and make your own, but no need to dirty the kitchen, you will never achieve the same flavor.

A trip home is not complete without a few of these, and of course they are on the Weight Watchers plan :)

The good 'ole days

I have two of the greatest siblings.

Being the baby, I got dragged to countless piano recitals and baseball games. But I have to say, I was probably their biggest fan. I wanted to hangout with my sibling's friends so bad and be that "cool" younger sibling.

Those were the good 'ole days.

The day my sister moved to college is a day I will never forget. I remember being so excited because I didn't have to share a bathroom anymore, or put up with fighting over clothes or shoes. I also helped her pack and had the idea, that what she left was fair game. I mean that was a good plan, right? We loaded the cars up and headed north. Now, Rebecca was the first child to go off to college, so emotions were a bit high. After getting her all moved it, the goodbyes came. Oh man, the tears. After close to an hour of crying, we loaded up the car to head home. Not one word was spoken until we stopped in Macon to eat. A 3 hour car ride of silence and crying.

my beautiful sister

Two years later it was Stephen's turn. Not as dramatic as the time we took Rebecca, but emotions were still high. I was excited and scared of being the only child at home.

an amazing big brother

While driving home from dropping Stephen off, this time with more talking and less tears, my parents quickly shifted their focus on me. They didn't know what to do with one kid. I politely reminded them that this was not going to be "fix Anna" time and just because they now only had one kid under the roof, did not mean they could hover over me. (Which they remind me of this story often)

I realized that I would take fighting over clothes, drawing lines down the bathroom counter, being a human punching bag, riding around in the Trooper, watching countless All-Star baseball games and listening to the "Cat & Mouse" on the piano again and again.... to have them living down the hall from me.

Those were the good 'ole days.

Now, the three of us are grownups. We have jobs, places of our own, and lives. It is harder to see each other or to be able to hangout like the good 'ole days. We have to create weekends to find time together, even if that means driving 2 hours to and from just to have dinner... we do it.

typical Christmas photo 

Both of my siblings have been living the camp last this past week. I never got to experience the camp life like they have, but they both thrive on lack of sleep, driving Budget trucks, dressing in crazy colors, and so on. Nothing more brings a smile to my face then listening to their camp stories and seeing pictures of the kids faces as they enjoy Miss Rebecca and Mr. Stephen running around. Seeing them both pursue God's will for their lives and watch them grow, has been unbelievable.

I miss being able to be all together for family vacations or being able to enjoy summer together. But now, we have developed new traditions and memories. If all 5 of us are together, it must be in Athens for a football game. It is more than a game for our family, it is tradition.

I have been blessed with two amazing siblings. I can't wait for another time for the 3 of us to hangout again and create memories.

Those are the good 'ole days.