1. The sentence: “I saw your mom and she was telling me..."
You're just like what, what could she have possibly told you?
2. You recognize everyone by their car.
You catch yourself thinking “hmm isn't that Jimmy Smith's great aunt Ruth in that Toyota?"
3. You know people's dogs by first name.
Oh look! There's Sherry walking Lulu in the park. Did Lulu get a new collar? I think she did! Aw.
4. You're always associated with the person you dated.
It doesn't matter if you guys dated in the 8th grade, people still approach you with, “How's John? Are you guys still together?" And you're just like, "THAT WAS 6 YEARS AGO!"
5. Town elections get feisty.
The election for town council always makes waves. People put their hearts and souls into those elections, as they should.
6. If your friend starts dating someone from college, he must get tried in a court of law to see if he deems suitable.
Did he play sports? What's his deal? Where is he even from? What are his parents like? Does he have siblings? What's his social security number?
7. You see your teachers everywhere.
'Oh hey, isn't that Ms. Brown drinking a Margarita at La Siesta?' Of course it is because she enjoys her nights, as do you, and there is no escaping each other in the perimeter lines of this little place.
8. You have your favorite restaurants, nail places, hair salons, coffee shops, gas stations and streets to drive down.
You can always be seen eating your favorite muffin at your favorite breakfast place, drinking your favorite coffee on Saturday mornings.
9. People hold on to accomplishments.
'Oh right! You were on the 1965 High School Super Bowl Championship team! How could I have possibly forgotten that? Thank god you're still wearing your letterman jacket and the ring!'
10. Restaurants already know your order when you walk in.
They may have even held a small ceremony when you upgraded from the children's menu.
11. Everyone anticipates the day that the town newspaper comes out.
People just can't wait to read about all of the news that they already heard!
12. When you see someone you don't recognize, you get very worried.
You're like wait, who is that? I've never seen her before. Why is she here? Is she lost? Did aliens drop her off?
13. You get emotionally attached to the schools in your town.
When they think of knocking one down to build another, you feel like they're taking away a piece of your soul.
14. Everyone knows everything.
And I mean everything. You can't leave your house without someone seeing you and making a note of which direction you were going in and at what time you left.
15. No matter how far away you go, you know that you always have a place to call home.
People will always welcome you back with open arms and for that, you are always thankful.