Those 70ish Girls

I’ve been thinking a lot about Murdo lately. Maybe because Kip and I moved to a small town in Texas about a year ago. We lived in a lake area community for several years before that and lived and worked in the big city of Dallas before that. I’m reminded of the similarities and differences in all the communities.

Van, where we live now, had a population of around 2,800, and Murdo’s was 488 in 2023. Murdo would be a little bigger if you counted the ranchers and farmers. Van has all the fast food restaurants, and the schools are bigger. There is no movie theater, and we have to drive to the next town about 20 miles away to the closest Walmart where we do our grocery shopping.

I remember growing up in Murdo, I felt a sense of belonging to a community. I can still remember the awesome way it felt to belong. School and  friendships were very important to me. I also grew up with a large extended family. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were my lifeline. My older brother went away to college when I was in 5th grade, so all that family made me feel less like an only child.

Dogs used to have the run of the town in Murdo. Our dog, Berferd, thoroughly enjoyed his life there. Here, they have to be in a fenced yard or on a leash. They both love to escape if they get a chance.

One of our daughters and her husband live in a neighboring town about 7 miles away. Another daughter and a son and their families live in the Dallas area a couple of hours away and another son and his family live in Wyoming. A granddaughter and her family live about 20 miles away. We don’t see as much of any of them as we’d like.

Sports in Murdo have always been a big deal. It’s that way in Van, too. Kip and I need to start attending some of the local high school’s sporting events. Maybe that would enhance our sense of belonging. I just now came to that realization.

Murdo definitely had a grapevine of gossip. I wonder if it still does. I’m sure Van does, too, though Kip and I are not well connected enough to know. After living in the Dallas area for so many years, it’s nice to be in a smaller town again. It’s wonderful not to have the traffic. I wish I had a dollar for every time I drove down Main Street and around Brunskill’s hill in Murdo. We used to call it dragging Main.

Though we live in a relatively small town, it doesn’t feel like Murdo. The lake area was nice as we have a lot of friends there and that’s where our church is.

I feel like I’m rambling a bit here. That’s the way my thoughts have been. I hope you’re having a great day! Until next time…