In Love

I have fallen in love with San Antonio.

We've been here for nearly a year now. It's a good thing I like it, since Evan and I are mostly staying here for the summer. Jen came to visit, Evan taught arts camp at church, Mike came to visit, we found a house (closing date is July 30), and my parents are coming in on Sunday. We'll go to the beach for a weekend with Evan's family in July, but that will also be in Texas.

I can't imagine myself anywhere else. I grew up in the Indianapolis area, and I have a lot of fond memories from there. I'm actually writing a short story set in Indiana, and it's fun seeing how I convey the place of my childhood. But Indiana is very flat and very gray and sad in the winter. My parents don't live there anymore. Actually, other than a whirlwind night last summer on my way to California I haven't been to Indy in 3 years.

I do like the mountains of Tennessee. I like watching them smoke after a rainfall and jumping in piles of colorful leaves during the fall. I love Milligan and the professors I had. I miss places like Roan Mountain, Watauga Lake, and Cootie Brown's. I went to college, student taught, got married, and completed my first year of teaching in Tennessee. After that year of teaching, I desperately needed out. Now I think I'm finally reaching a point where I could go back and visit.

Texas offered this land of opportunity. Evan's family, his hometown. A wealth of potential jobs. A chance at something new. Maybe success. Maybe just a real place to call home. A new church. A new school. New friends. A new vision.

It's not the muddy brown riverwalk, as Mark Cuban kindly called our pride and joy here. Though I do love meandering downtown. It's not the Mexican food (yum!) or even the friendly people. Maybe it's all of these. I do miss snow and people who can pronounce the word "tour" right (my students pronounce it "tore"). Life is just a contradiction. A time to stay and a time to move on. I'm glad we moved on. I'm glad we're staying.