Yeah, I’m a Decaturite now.

Me, a Decaturite? I have a hard time admitting it, and I surely never thought I’d see the day. But today I voted in Decatur for the first time. And I also saw this plate on my car for the first time — a Subaru with a Decatur front plate — how unique (not).

I’m not yet proud to be a Decaturite, and I don’t know if I ever will be. I like this place. I like the convenience. I like the activities available. But I have a few road blocks to get through before I can say I live in Decatur without feeling like I sold out.

For a decade or longer, I’ve sworn that I wouldn’t move to Decatur (nor own a VW — so much for my swearing). The folks there, er here, always struck me as being overly proud of their town. Too pretentious. Sure, Decatur is a nice place. But these Decaturites seem to be trying too hard to pat themselves on the back for having moved here. Or, maybe they know something that I have yet to discover. And now I’m one of them, though hopefully not overly proud nor pretentious, yet. But, maybe one day I too will join them. I won’t swear to anything anymore.

This small town/big city has lovely things to offer. While I’m slowly discovering new places, I’m even more slowly meeting people. Some of the folks are friendly, but Decatur ain’t no Pine Lake. In Pine Lake, I knew half the city in a matter of weeks. I was president of the neighborhood association within six months. Here? I’m invisible. And perhaps I actually craved that for a change…

Today I realized that I’m almost at the point where I run in to at least one person I know each time I head out. Slowly, slowly I’m adjusting to life here. Am I proud of or willing to take ownership of this place? Not quite yet, but maybe one day.

decatur plate - 6 mar 2012