I haven't lived at my mom's place for a couple of years now.

I moved to the city to attend university after graduating high school and I haven't been

back much, aside from holidays.

In truth, university was just an excuse.

I really just wanted to get the hell out of the sticks.

I grew up in this town, which is less than 12,000 people, a few elementary schools and

only one high school.

I know lots of you probably grew up in much smaller places, but I think we're cut from

the same cloth.

I mean, going to Walmart as a kid was practically the same as a vacation in my mind,

or at least would be the closest I'd come to one.

That being said, I might lose a lot of you when I say that our roads were paved, mostly,

and the towns hub garnered a lot of tourism, so it's not like we're smack dab in the middle

of nowhere.

My mom's house, on the other hand, is a different story.

It sits out in the lonely creek of the outskirts of town, about a 20-minute drive to the closest

grocery store.

You wouldn't find street lamps or sidewalks out here, but you would find me, my mom,

and my older sister, Leah.

While we have neighbours, our homes aren't packed in tight like the suburbs.

Even if you knew they were there, they're hidden from view by large stretches of thickets

and trees.

...