Sentimental. Overall, moving to Texas has been the best decision I have made, and I am incredibly happy with what I have in my new home. I have an awesome boyfriend, all of our pets, two great jobs, and ample opportunity to continue my travels to some fantastic destinations not too far from home. I feel happier than I have ever been, and I can't wait to see what's next. I recently spent eight days back in Nebraska, and while I love living in Texas, there are certain things about my home state that I really miss, and didn't realize I was missing until I came back for a visit. It was also really weird to be in Nebraska as a visitor, not a resident. I know all of the roads around town by heart, yet subtle differences made me feel out of place. The Texas license plates and driver's license didn't help. This post is going to be a sentimental/whining ramble, so unless you're prepared for that you might as well stop reading now.
First and most important, I miss my family and friends. Sure, down in Texas I have Jared and am starting to make new friends, but I miss going to Sunday dinners with my family, calling up childhood friends and randomly going to each other's houses on a whim. I have Skype, texts, Facebook and Snapchat, but those social media platforms aren't a substitute for seeing people in person. My family is very close, and we're always there for each other. Except it's hard to be when I'm 740 miles away. I plan on making the effort to go back for every major event, but what defines "major" and "event," never mind how I'm going to get the time off of both jobs to go visit.
Parts of me miss my hometown, Lincoln. I miss easy access to bike trails, plentiful areas to hang out and grab coffee or ice cream, and weekly farmer's markets. I really, really enjoy fresh produce and farm-fresh eggs, and love winding through the vendors and checking out hand made crafts and jewelry. I know my area of Texas has similar markets, but I miss the familiarity of my hometown and the surrounding area. You know, I hardly ever see dirt roads in Texas. The only one I can think of is the driveway from the highway to the visitor's center at my work. Country/county roads? Dirt in Nebraska, paved in Texas. It's really weird.
A large part of me had been craving a good, old fashioned Nebraska thunderstorm. Of course Texas gets rain. We've had plenty of it. If we get much more, I'm going to need a boat to get around instead of a car. But the difference is, where I live in Texas we're surrounded by hills covered in trees. While I really do love living in a forest, it kind of makes it difficult to watch thunderstorms roll in, or retreat into the distance. You can't see anything until the storm is right on top of you, and by then it's grey rain and the occasional lightening. I want to see the thunderhead building, pulling in warm moisture and billowing up at the top into a towering, awe-inspiring spectacle. While I'm talking about the weather, there is something in Nebraska that I hadn't realized I don't have at home: wind. Sure, there's a breeze, but other than during thunderstorms there really isn't a near-constant wind like there is around Lincoln. I'm not sure I really miss the wind, but it's an absence I only realized while visiting Nebraska.
Now, I absolutely love living in a forest. I love the trees and the green light and the abundance of birds and other wildlife. But occasionally, I'd like to see some agriculture. Who would have thought that something as simple as baby corn plants growing in a cornfield would fascinate me when I came for a visit? It's been a while since I've seen cornfields, and when you grow up living near one, it becomes a sight you just assume is normal everywhere. Except it isn't. And not only that, but the growing season up in Nebraska is different. There were irises blooming in the front yard when I moved to Texas at the end of February. There were irises blooming in Nebraska at the end of May.
Other than the family/friends one, none of these things are major. Just little differences I've noticed in the three months I've lived in Texas. I really do love living in Texas, and I have no intentions of moving back to Nebraska (sorry, Mom!) I'll be able to come up for visits to see everybody I care about, and still highly encourage my friends to come see me. I'd love to show people around my chosen home, and hopefully help them understand why I've come to love this place, despite some of the things I miss about my childhood home.
:-)
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