PSA: I swore raising kids in a small town was the only way, then my cousin in Chicago said one sentence at a graduation party | Cognitive Dissonance Diaries

Spencer Park · 2026-10-19T21:40:08.595279+00:00

I spent years telling anyone who would listen that a small town in Iowa was the only sane place to raise a family. At my niece's graduation party in June, my cousin from Chicago asked me what my kids did on a random Tuesday afternoon, and I honestly could not name one thing they had done that week besides watch TV and ride around. Their kids had a bus pass, a library card, and three friends from four different countries, and mine had a bike and a dead-end street. I still think small towns have real value, but I have been sitting with that question for a month now. Has anyone else had a relative gut their whole worldview with one innocent question?

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PSA: I swore raising kids in a small town was the only way, then my cousin in Chicago said one sentence at a graduation party | Cognitive Dissonance Diaries - Thought Shares