Living in a Small Town

By Allison Berman
October 21, 2009

When my husband and I drove through the quaint village of Warwick for the first time 7 years ago, it immediately felt like home. I imagined my kids knowing the shopkeepers, feeling a sense of community. And the way to foster that is to support the local businesses.

I am in and out of town practically daily and I am on a first name basis with Diane at the drugstore, Uri at the bank, and Judy and Chris at the pizza place. Bill mixes my paints at the hardware store - while my daughter plays with their cat. The post office just would not be the same without Tom and Vern who always put me at ease no matter how discombobulated I might be. They see me at what is usually my most harried- holding boxes of accessories to mail to customers in one arm, and holding the baby with the other arm - while my 4 ¾ year old holds the door. I stand in line hoping I remember to buy special stamps for birthday invitations and regular stamps for bills.

My older daughter goes to pre-school in Warwick so I used to take advantage of that "free time" to do my errands rather than schlep 2 kids in and out of the car when you don't have to. Between my business, my column, and being on the board of Jewish Federation I try to use my time efficiently (not an easy task for me). When my daughter asked me to wait for her to go to the supermarket I realized there was a flaw to my system. By doing errands while my daughter was at school, I was inadvertently keeping her from the community she has grown to love.

One of our favorite errands is the big box grocery store with a small town feel. We are greeted in the parking lot by Jody who is technically responsible for collecting the grocery carts, but out of the kindness of her heart "polices" the "mommy-to-be spots" making sure that nobody else parks in them. Linc teaches me wonderful tips about selecting produce and keeping it fresher longer. Chris, another friend in produce, and I talk about our latest cooking adventures and the cooking shows that inspire them. I am very impatient so I do the self check out which is where I met Lucy who calls out produce codes for me so I don't have to look them up, "apples 4015". When my younger daughter doesn't cooperate during checkout Amanda, the manager magically appears helping me load everything into the cart before I run out of the muffin I am using to appease the baby.

While my daughter is at school, I now either work or spend one-on-one time with the baby; my older daughter, younger daughter, and I find other times to do errands together. It may not be efficient (or convenient) but the way I see it, I am helping my kids fortify roots in our community one errand at a time.

Allison Berman, an artist and mother of two, handpaints custom home accessories for interior designers and private customers. She works out of her home studio in Warwick, NY. See her collection at www.withlovealib.com. She can be reached at ali@withlovealib.com. Her column appears Tuesdays.