Once upon a time 20 years ago in May, I lived in northeastern Iowa. I loved living there - I relished every season for the 12 years we were there. As a child growing up I had constantly heard my Mom's stories about living in the four seasons as she grew up in Pennsylvania. Oh how I loved her tales of winter snow crunching under her feet, fall smells of leaves burning, etc. I felt really gypped that I grew up in sunny Southern California where there are basically only two seasons - the very hot season and the milder warm season. Occasionally we have cold/cool days which are our 'freezing' winter days for which we require a jacket. My daughter in Minneapolis reminds me that those days are 'in-the-middle-of-winter-short-wearing-days' for the snowbound as she chuckles at us whimpy West Coasters.
In the picture above, Kyle is 17 weeks old. It was May and I was homesick for beaches and California weather. We had been in Iowa for a full year (we arrived in Iowa March 3, 1988). The closest thing I could come to warm weather that May was dressing Kyle up in his 'beach comber' outfit with his cute little sandals and sit him on a skateboard in lieu of an honest-to-goodness-surfboard. I forgot his little sunglasses, poor baby, the sun was a little bright.
Kyle is now a full-fledged sunny Southern California Iowa transplant. He loves the beach, loves surfing, and even broke his ankle skateboarding a few years back (maybe I should have never introduced him to that skateboard so many Mays ago....) Poor boy is stuck working in an office all day with no windows right now, but sure gets out and about when his time off hits.
It has been 9 years as of last night (the 26th) that I moved back to California from Iowa with three of my four kids - Kym, Jeff and Kyle. Bonnie had gotten married and so had to stay in the midwest while she and her husband finished college and work their jobs. We are hoping that things work out for them and her family is able to move to the west coast next year.
I have wonderful memories of living in the midwest. It is a whole different lifestyle than the west coast. There are days I wish I could live in both places -- at the same time. But since that is not possible, I enjoy wherever I am at for the moment. And right now I am loving every minute of views like the one below.
2 comments:
I miss my Eclipse :(. It's hard to believe its been nine years already, time really seems to fly doesn't it?
I know, it really doesn't seem like it has been nine years since we have been living here. Sometimes when I close my eyes I feel like I am in the house in Iowa. I miss having you, Kym, Jeff and Bonnie all living at home, too -- that is the hardest thing for me to grasp -- you guys are all grownups now with families and lives of your own. Last night I was standing at the back door waiting for Honey to come back in and I felt like if I walked out into the yard and looked at your old bedroom window, that I would see you sitting in there at your computer with the phone to you ear, or one of the Steven's sitting there talking to you. I wonder if a mom ever gets over empty nesting about her babies being grown up and out of the house? I love you!
Love Mom
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