How well traveled are you?

Maybe it all depends on how much your parents liked to travel.

In my family we saved our travel time to visit relatives. But even so, long trips were unusual. That kind of travel simply wasn’t on our radar.

And truth be told, we didn’t long for more travel.

We thought we were extremely lucky when we could spend a week or two in what we considered an exotic vacation — meaning an occasional trip to Atlantic City or Wildwood in New Jersey.

The end of our trips was sometimes memorable. That was usually when on the way home we might have had to pool our money to see if we had enough for pizza or fried chicken.

When I had a family of my own I was the one who saved a little bit of money all year so we could go to my favorite spot on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

We always rented a cottage on the beach, and I was sure life didn’t get any better than that.

For 21 consecutive years we spent our family vacation at the exact place — a seaside cottage in Kitty Hawk.

I thought I was blessed to be able to take our family for our two-week vacation at the Outer Banks.

I remember how stunned I was when my daughter got married and announced that she didn’t want to take her family to our same vacation spot. She said she needed variety.

My husband and I continued taking our Outer Banks vacation, while Andrea and her family explored the world.

When Andrea’s three kids were in grade school it dawned on me that they had seen more of the world at their tender age than I would ever see.

But that thought didn’t make me sad.

In hindsight, I suppose I should have wanted to see more of the world, but I honestly had no yearning to do it.

The same thing was true when it came to where I wanted to live. I grew up in a little town called Shamokin, and I was perfectly content to live there. I wanted to live there forever.

My husband and I loved our town and we cherished the opportunity to live in the same town in which we grew up.

My cousins had all moved out of the area as soon as they had graduated. I regarded their homes as “in the big city,” something I never wanted to do.

Was I a small town girl?

You betcha!

I thought I was extremely blessed to know every man, woman and child in our town, along with their grandparents and the names of their pets.

I thought we would live there forever. That, of course, was what I wanted and what I cherished.

The biggest heartbreak came when we had to had to relocate because of my husband’s new job. It was three hours away, but it seemed like three countries away.

When we had to move, my husband’s elderly father was suddenly like a fish out of water because his son left town.

But we all have to do what we need to do.

Although I, too, was heartbroken at leaving the area, I had to be the family cheerleader in helping my husband and daughters to adjust to our new circumstances.

I was sad to leave our 100-year-old Victorian home that gave me such joy. The way the sun shined on the old woodwork was a site I had loved.

In our new area there was a shortage of homes so we were forced to build.

I would like to tell you that I quickly adjusted to my new circumstances but it’s not true. It took a long time.

I had to hide my feelings while I was trying to help my daughters adjust.

I know I sound like a crybaby when I thought of our old home.

Even though I kept my true feelings to myself, my own adjustment took longer than it should have because I was clinging to what was, not the new opportunities I was given.

In my new town there were far more professional opportunities for me and for my husband. It just took me a long time to acknowledge that Shamokin wasn’t where we needed to be.

There is a well known piece of wisdom that says bloom where you are planted. When I accepted that wisdom I realized I was led to where I needed to be.

Now I live in a senior living development, and it’s not the type of housing I ever pictured calling home. This small town kid never thought I would live in a high-rise.

But I truly learned a lesson about appreciating new ventures.

What I love best are my fellow senior citizens who are ever so happy to live here.

When we get together the conversation often turns to travel. This is certainly a well traveled bunch.

I don’t have much to contribute about travel except for my three trips to Italy with my daughters.

I still don’t yearn for more travel. If I had to put a label on my state of mind I would say contented.

Country mouse or city mouse? It doesn’t matter.

What matters most is appreciating what you have.

Email Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net