Where I'm from, 2012

I am from farmlands and small towns, from Electrolux and home-made cinnamon rolls.

I am from the old two-story houses with a chicken pen in the yard and a big garden, and an outhouse in back.

I am from wild blackberries, the biggest ones that are the sweetest, warmed by the sun.

I am from every holiday spent with uncles and aunts and cousins, from being hard-headed and thrifty, from Clara Stevens and Cook and Allen and Smith.

I am from making it through hard times and knowing God will take care of you.

From "we'll end up in the poorhouse" and "pretty is as pretty does".

I am from Acts 2:38 and vacation Bible school every summer and church three times a week.

I'm from Iowa and Missouri, from fried chicken on Sunday and sweet cream raisin pie for dessert.

From the time Grandpa Allen hit a horse so hard with his fist that the horse went to its knees, from the time my brother went AWOL, and from the way my sister did housework like a grown woman when she was just a little girl.

I am from a music box purchased by a grandfather I never knew as a gift for my grandmother when they were first married; from home-made noodles, and Allis Chalmers tractors.

I'm from the best of times.