Small Town Ohio

Blue jeans and a cable knit sweater
Dark red polished nails, not too long.
She always has at least a pound of butter in the fridge
There is something coming out of the oven every night
Her house has more than one fake rooster
The dinner table always has a seasonal center piece

Screened in porch with a pitcher of sun tea
The back yard over looks the apple orchard that is next to the corn field
Her apple pies are always made in multiples of five
The office with the french doors showing a wall of family photographs

She always host parties as an excuse to make a tablescape
Her family is a direct reflection on her own character
Before leaving the house you must be put together
Pearls and lipstick are as important as your car keys

She worked at one point at an insurance company but now is a stay at home mom
Making laundry an art and having every room out of a Pottery Barn catalog
The next door neighbors all gather on weekends for cards and talk about the family down the street
In the summer the lawns all have a woven pattern

The world is beyond the city limits and doesn't touch anywhere she knows
Crime, politics and debt are just stories on FOX
Church on Sundays are a way to show off your perfect family
All together, put together, pray together.

Conservative views where women are mothers and thats an honor
Dinner every night will be made from scratch, no frozen meals in her home
Dinners start with kids setting the table
Plates having at least one vegetable and one protein
Pies, cakes and trifles for dessert
Homework and 9:30 bedtimes for the kids, no exceptions

The kids all have their own sports
She goes and cheers for them each
She organizes gift bags and treats for the team
Each mom trying to out do the next
Team dinners and practices always early and the coaches favorite



I grew up in a small town in Ohio where everyone knew everywhere and the mothers were all in competition with each other. 'Keeping up with the Johnsons' would be putting it lightly. The moms would always be trying to be more involved than the next and to have their kids in the paper. It didn't do a thing for me so I left.

 

Typical Hinsdale Mom

Typical Hinsdale Mom 

She has a mini van to drive her three children around

Typical soccer mom who brings oranges for half time

Stay at home mom who has too much time on her hand

Her husband is a successful doctor who supports the whole family

He is usually only home at dinnertime

Family dinners and the big wooden table in the kitchen

They are a close knit family and talk about their days

They are a cookie cutter family where everything has to seem perfect

In the summer her spare time is spent at the country club

Kids are in tennis and swim lessons

Husband plays golf with co-workers

She plays tennis with friends

She wears sweaters and workout clothes

School year comes around and It is time to send kids to school

Her kids are well behaved

They attended a very good private school five minutes away from home

Saint Isaac Jogues is the name

The children are forced to wear red white and blue uniforms that they despise

Small grades about 90 children per grade and church on Fridays

While her kids are in school she has her work out schedule and luncheons

Lifetime Fitness is where all of Hinsdale attends

She is very in shape and healthy

Her luncheons consist of three other moms eating at corner bakery

Eating their salads

They can gossip for hours about how awesome their children are

Friday night comes around

She supports the red devils

The local bar is full with all her friends around the block from the football field

Friday night football is a time where the whole town can get together

Town roars in victory as Hinsdale usually make it to state every year

The stands are full with white black and red

As the weekend rolls around she is relaxed and happy

Reading a large book on the porch when she has time

And the cycle continues same schedule day in and day out

I grew up in a suburb of chicago . This is trying to relay the message that my hometown is a bubble and inside the bubble everything is trying to be perfect. My town is very materialistic. Thats why I came all the way to Kentucky to get away from it all (:

Give me back my hometown

My Hometown

She's a small girl,
she knows just enough about life to be smart
but not enough to know tragedy.

She's a friendly wave hello as you drive by,
She's help from a neighbor,
She's lunch after church on a Sunday.

She's a southern accent,
Talking slow enough to make sure everyone's listening,
subtly making sure all eyes are on her.

She's an understanding nod,
She's a listening ear as you share what's bothering you,
She's sharing a cup of sweet tea over catching up between two friends.

She's beauty, not conventional beauty,
but beauty in it's purest form.
Natural beauty.

In explaining my characterization, I kept it simple because it is representing my hometown, which is a very simple place. I thought about the things I saw as i was growing up and incorporated them here, into a characterization poem. Through this characterization, i personified my hometown and described it as if it were a person, which brings it to life and makes if more interactive.