(this article appeared in the Smithville Herald in 2010, when they upgraded their website the archives didn't transfer over). Where are you from? This question has always baffled me and I’ve never known how to respond. Do I answer Decatur, Illinois where I was born? Tulsa where I graduated High School? Or what about the last place I lived with my parents and eventually met my husband, Blue Springs, Missouri? I didn’t live there very long so that can’t be right. All the places in between don’t seem right either, I never stayed in one place long enough for it to count. I was always the new kid at school. Working your way into a clique of girls who went to kindergarten together wasn’t easy, but I did it many times. I have lived my life being insanely jealous of those people that went to the grocery store and knew a lot of people at the store. Or the person that stops at the post office and ends up having a hearty conversation with someone they’ve known a long time. I never knew that feeling and I became envious of those that had it. You Can Choose Smithville or Platte City School District We weren’t sure we believed it, but that is what the flyer for the purchase of our Smithville home boasted. Did it really matter? Kids and school seemed so far away. We were occupied with working on our new farm as well as our two careers. Seven years later, when I turned 38, I gave birth to our first child. As Kyle grew, we gave no thought to school or where he would go. When he was 21 months old I gave birth to our second child, Kolby. We began to kick around the choose either school district statement we read when purchasing our home. It can’t be true we surmised. Our neighbors’ children had gone to Platte City, “Everyone on the west side of Todd Creek goes to Platte City,” they explained. That described our home by a few hundred yards. I had a City Hall trip planned for a permit, I decided to take all my documents with me and find out which school our children would attend. “Where do we go to school?” I inquired. She looked at all of the papers, glanced up and down on the documents; she pursed her lips in thought. “You can choose!” she finally said. I was surprised. Several things contributed to this odd situation; First of all, our house sits exactly on the line which goes right down the middle of our house. Secondly, since we have property on both sides, we pay taxes to both districts. Thus, we literally could choose. Initially, we decided on Platte City, I think it had something to do with the sports at the High School. When Kyle was four, we enrolled him in a T-Ball league in Platte City. We showed up, knew no one. Went to every practice, every game, never made any friends. The feeling we got from that team just didn’t seem right. Again, we talked about which school they would attend and started asking around. “Smithville feels more small town,” we were told. We reconsidered our decision and then switched to Smithville and once again, signed Kyle up for T-Ball. Pictures were early that year. When we arrived to get his picture taken, I immediately felt an overwhelming sense of peace about our decision. I knew so many people there! I felt at home. It felt right. We’ve had several years of sports since then and it’s only gotten better. The coaches, kids, parents, neighbors, teachers, mailman, grocer, dentist……. everyone is so friendly, accommodating and sincere. Kyle is going in to second grade this year, Kolby starts kindergarten and we are absolutely pleased with our decision. Everywhere I go, I know someone. It seems I have little conversations with an acquaintance all the time. My husband Keith and I have both lived in this house longer than we have lived anywhere. We look forward to our children graduating from Smithville. These days if someone asks me where I’m from, with pride, contentment and complete satisfaction I proudly say “Smithville Missouri!”