One of the things I love about my mom is that she always answers honestly any question that’s asked of her. Once when I was about eight, I asked her if we were poor. She just looked me in the eye and said yes. (But no, we wouldn’t have to sell our house and live in a shack.) When I was ten and I asked her what “getting your period” meant after reading the phrase in a book, she explained the female reproductive system to me. And as a grandmother, she gives my boys the same honest answers to their questions as she used to give me.

Now I have nothing against big cities, but living in a town of less than 2000 people means that my children have freedoms that other children can only dream about. My boys can play outside in an unfenced yard without constant adult supervision. My oldest son can make the five-minute walk to the library or the candy store by himself. And when I need to run out to do a few errands, Zackary sometimes remains at home with instructions to keep the door locked and not answer the phone.

But even in small-town Saskatchewan, there are sometimes dangers. And recently, when a very high-risk sexual offender cut off his monitoring bracelet in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, a town just over three hours away, and was spotted around schools at small towns nearby, the security I love about my small town was no longer assured. And I wasn’t even at home when it happened. [Read more…]