Define Hometown

I always have a hard time deciding on exactly where my hometown is. The accepted definition is where a person was born or grew up; principal place of residence. That’s really hard to pinpoint in my life.

It hardly counts that I was born in Ketchikan, Alaska while it was still a US territory. My family moved to Washington State when I was two. From then until age thirteen I lived in three different towns, none for very long. In the middle of 7th grade we settled in Seattle, where I graduated from high school, got married and became a mother to my first two children. That took about 16 years of my life. Does that count as my hometown I wonder?

Next there was another 9 years in two different towns in California. 4 more years were spent on the Laguna Indian Reservation in New Mexico; minus the first husband and adding a second and another child. Apparently they were necessary experiences!

Now for the confusing part, at least for me. Since 1980 I have lived in Grants, NM. Well that’s not exactly true. My mailing address is Grants, but technically my house is located 3 miles outside of the city limits in Cibola County. So for the last 30 years I haven’t been able to claim any town as my place of residence.

Possibly I don’t have a hometown. I wonder if it would be appropriate to answer earth the next time it comes up on a form!