Perspective

Over the 4 years that I've been down here (the anniversary of my move was in Sept...on Autumn Equinox, when we were in Colorado), I've commented about many of the things that I have seen here that I never, or rarely at best, saw back home.

Like the sheer number of people who are morbidly obese.  Or cars without bumpers.  Or cars that are never, ever washed.

Pump jacks.

Droves of homeless people sleeping in the street, or the park, or behind the convenience store.

Buildings that look abandoned but aren't.  Buildings that SHOULD be abandoned, but aren't.

Utter, unspeakable devastation of neighborhoods, homes, and schools by the biggest tornado ever recorded.  Saw this with my own eyes, a mere mile from where my in-laws live, and could not speak for hours.  Just wept in complete astonishment.

Incredibly run down neighborhoods RIGHT around the corner from, well, MY neighborhood.

Drug addicts standing at the Red Box at our Walgreens, with the shakes so bad that they can't press the buttons.

Drunks wandering the parking lot at Target.  Or begging on the corner.

Junkies lurking in the parking lot where I work, waiting to jump out and yell "GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!" (note: this did not happen to me, but to someone who works in my building this past Thursday morning)

The worst examples of humanity that I have ever encountered in my life seem to live here. No lie.

Okay, fine.

So.

There's more of that here than back in the pristine suburbs of Chicago, where I wasn't afraid to go walking at night, or grocery shopping by myself, or....well....pretty much anything.

You know how we always think that home is always the best, right?

But what else is there?

What else have I seen here that I've never, or rarely at best, ever seen back home?

The color that a bald cypress tree turns in the fall.  Oh my gosh.  I had no idea.  It's gorgeous!

The most amazing skies, sunsets, and storm clouds.  Every season of the year.

Sweet gum trees that grow HUGE, and have the most stunning autumn foliage imaginable.

The way the sky is reflected in the Devon Energy tower that has been built since I arrived. I was dead set against it...it would RUIN the quaint "it wants to be a big city but isn't" sky line.... but now that it's here, I kind of dig it.

Scissor Tailed Fly Catchers...capital letters intentional, because MY GOD they're amazing!!!  I LOVE THEM!

Hawks circling over urban developments.  All the time.  Like it's normal.  Because, to them, it is.

Red dirt.  It's really quite pretty!

The spirit of people who have been challenged over and over and over again by the harsh weather that comes across this region.  I am left without words when I see what they will do for one another after the latest disaster.

And there will always be another disaster.  Because that's where we live.

Cowboys.  There are real, actual cowboys, in hats and wearing spurs.  At the grocery store.  Or the restaurant. It's kind of cool.

And another thing?  There are still gentlemen here.  They call me "ma'am," and they step aside for me, or open the door for me.  It's truly remarkable.  That is something that I lamented about back home on MANY an occasion.

I now work for emergency medical services.  And I have to say, there are some of THE BEST looking EMT's on the planet in this town!  And I get to see them every day!  Wow.  It's nice!

Okay, enough about the men.

I guess my point is....over these 4 years of difficult transition, I've come to realize that not EVERYTHING about being here is hard, or sucks, or lacks something.

I have learned to appreciate what I can, and most DEFINITELY what I HAVE....because that just keeps getting better.

And I have taught myself, through daily gratitude exercises, to open my eyes to everything that's good, and beautiful, and worthy about this place.  Where I am now.  Where I will be for a long time to come.

To reconcile it into the next phase of becoming who I am again.

A long journey, not always pleasant, but good.  In the long run, good.  And for goodness sake, look at how PRETTY that bald cypress is!