Will I Miss Texas?

This is a question that I have posed to myself while waiting expectantly to come home to Washington for Christmas break. There are many things that I will not miss... I will not miss the fact that sidewalks end abruptly making your planned walking route no longer feasible. I will not miss the utter lack of Thai food (I have only eaten it once since I moved here). I will not miss the predominance of country music and conservatism. I will not miss defending that I support gay marriage, that I believe in evolution, or my support of taxation for social programs. I will not miss the fact that I eat out a lot (meaning that I rarely get home cooked meals). I will not miss the physical environment, it is too flat, too dry, and too brown. I won't miss the city, it is too vast and without much beauty to compensate.

But I have found often that love is not in generalizations but in details. I don't like a lot things about Texas. But those that I do appreciate might make me miss it. It is mostly people. People are always what I get attached to. I will miss hearing Kaki's libertarian point of view because it different but well thought out. I will miss the big blaring sunlight that has maintained my tan through out the pale-ing season at home. I will miss the family of 12 that have started to play settlers with me (with the same addiction and competitiveness of people at home). I will miss Laura's sarcastic comments. My freshmen's lack of inhibition when it comes to sharing. I will miss Tim's awkward comments. Preston and Mac's music sharing. Kristin's fascination with Calvinism. Erin's love of soccer players. Emily's joy and free spiritedness. Queenie's love of her parents. Kyle's prayers. Coby's bad jokes/pranks. DeeDee's humor. Katie's conversations.

So I suppose that I will know that I miss things in a way. I already know that I absolutely miss home. This feeling always swims beneath the surface ready to pop out. I think a good metaphor for me is a water balloon which is given easy leaks with pins all the time. I usually am able to patch the holes in the mean time, but the water is just there waiting to come out. I am so glad that I will be spending Christmas at home. I miss you lots. LOVE.