My Town

Tomorrow will be three weeks since the tornado (which is totally mind-boggling).  These three weeks have been full of fierce advocacy for our town and all of the hit areas of our state.  This has made me think a lot about the meaning of home and territory and place.
I remember when I left Belmont and moved back to Alabama to start at The University.  Belmont is in a city, but is a small school where I knew almost every single student and could recognize most of the faculty and staff even if I did not know them.  I had grown accustom to walking across campus and saying hello and people knowing who I was and where I was going.  I remember the first day I walked across campus at The University and felt so small and alone, like the middle schooler moving up to high school.  I wondered how anybody would know me and how I would find my place.  Once I moved here full time, I still felt detached.  I even took myself to the ER with an eye injury despite being unable to see to drive because I didn't think I had anybody to call.  Then, one day, I ran into somebody I knew from town in Wal-Mart and they said hello.  Somehow, this caused me to pause and realize that I had never expected this to happen.  Somehow, I did not expect to become a part of this place, yet I was becoming a part of my community.  Eleven years later, this seems a little ridiculous, but in that moment it was profound.
Given that I'm a single woman in my early thirties, I've thought about whether I should move on - whether there are greener pastures.  But, I've come to realize this is my home.  I've even moved away and come back.  I don't know the future, but I choose to be here. 
The tornado has shown me that Tuscaloosa really is my town.  This truly resonated this past Saturday when I led a group of volunteers from out of town and I kept running into people I knew.  There was the Director of an Alabama mental health agency, one of my favorite students, my insurance man, a friend I lunch with, and the older gentleman I used to sit beside in choir.  Later, I went to Target and ran into an old friend, a former student/current board member, and one of my co-workers.  Yesterday, I went into another store that finally re-opened and found the matriach of my tap dance class that I had been worried about and unable to contact and then another student.
I think some friends that live in other places may be concerned and want me to get out of town.  I understand and appreciate that, but have also felt like it wasn't right to leave just yet.  It is hard for me to understand why some people insist on living in their damaged and tarped together houses in their destroyed neighborhoods - but then I realize it is their home and their history and that they are feeling 5x the ownership of this place that I am.   I'm proud to have a place.