I didn't really expect to like Swarthmore Borough as much as I do. It's really a different place from the rest of suburban Philadelphia, and it made our transition from California and Chapel Hill just a bit easier. Still jarring, but easier.
So, two reasons to love this place I call home, from Sunday:
(1) Every spring the borough hosts a charity fun fair. It's the kind of even where the local girl scout troop sets up a bake sale for the Japanese tsunami or the SPCA lets you toss beanbags into bowls for a lollipop. We did both. Next year, we might have our own booth.
(2) In getting ready to go to the fair, Lucy packed up a bag and her doll with such determination and precision I had to let her walk her stroller downtown. In navigating a curb, her stroller tumbled and she tumbled over with it. She was fine, and as I was picking her up, a group of middle-school aged boys passed us. One stopped, righted Lucy's stroller, replaced her doll, and went on his way.
Really, perhaps I romanticize a bit, but I can't shake the feeling that this is a place just a bit more innocent, a bit more small, and a bit more like home than anywhere I've lived recently.
Kevin and I already have agreed that we'll stay here if we stay in the area after his Swarthmore stint is up. It's hard for us to imagine ourselves anywhere else.
*And, at times, the college itself. I've been amazed at how little inconvenience we've had living on campus. Move-in weekend? NCAA national championships? Graduation? I'd never know they happen if Kevin didn't tell me. Most telling for us is the fact that we almost never have illegal parkers in our lot, even though we live just yards away from the stadium.
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