on being homesick

Things I miss:
-my sweetie
-my pooch
-my bikes
-my bed
-my softball team
-diners
&...
-STL in general

What? Did I just write that?
If you had told me 5 years ago that I would be living in STL one day, I would have laughed. My experience with Midwest cities pretty much ended at Grand Rapids and Detroit, and I had become pretty accustomed to life on the east coast.
But the opportunity presented itself. And, always up for adventure, we moved to the center of the country.
My mantra on the 18 hour drive from NY to MO was It can't be that bad!
And in fact, it isn't. STL won us over pretty quickly, in fact. But still, in that first year if you had told me we'd be buying a house there I would have resisted. It was fun, sure, but not for more than 2 years. Maybe 2.5. I missed my friends in the Northeast.
Then I switched to a PhD program.
Then the tax incentive for home buyers came around.
And meanwhile, bit by bit, STL grew on me.
The neighborhoods.
The parks.
The urban grit.
South City in general.

I'm not saying we'll be hosting Christmas for the grandkids there or anything, but when I get back in 3 weeks, it will be nice to be home.

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(With that said, one big gigantic thing I do not miss: humidity.
And STL weather in general in summer and winter. Civilized people should not live that way.)