Homesick

Sometimes I Really Miss the Midwest

I flew home to Iowa recently for my 30^th high school reunion.  As always, I came back with mixed feelings.  Especially after the 15-hour ordeal of actually getting there, but that’s a bitch session for another day.

As I was recently telling another friend who moved here from the Midwest, and who also has a love-hate relationship with NYC, I’ve always felt like a fish out of water, here and in Iowa.  There are things to love and hate about both.  But there are some things that I really do miss about ‘home’ to the point of sometimes breaking into tears.

1)            Family and friends.  Yes, it’s easier to keep in touch these days with email and social media, but it’s not the same as being in the same room.  I miss you all.

2)            Being around people who Get It.  I know what they say about people being the same wherever you go, but there’s nothing like going home to Your People.  Not having to explain why you partied in corn fields in high school.  Or why it’s called ‘pop’, not ‘soda’.  Sharing memories of teachers, friends, public figures, and local hangouts without having to provide a long-winded back story.  People who know true winter.  My People have known me longer than my husband has, so in some ways they know me better.  We might not even like each other very much, but we understand each other in a way that New Yorkers will never understand me.  Being a Stranger in a Strange Land is a lonely existence.

3)            Nice People.  East Coast people are weird.  There.  I said it.  Tear into me in the comments section if you want, but that’s my opinion and I’m entitled to it.  Sometimes I just get tired of the arrogance, the chip-on-the-shoulder-iness, the unhelpfulness, and downright rudeness that passes for the social norm out here. (Yes, I know there are nice people everywhere, including New York, but the general tone is one of Whaddyawant!?) Back home, even if they’re faking it, most people are nice to strangers.  It’s only after they get to know you that the claws come out.

4)            Meadowlarks.  I have to be content with the memory of their beautiful songs.

5)            Thunderstorms.  Knowing I might never experience a really awesome Midwest summer storm again brings tears to my eyes.  Please appreciate them.

Lord knows I love New York, otherwise I wouldn’t still be here after 25 

years, but I will always be a Midwesterner at heart.  This is a very general 

Miss List of the place I called home for 24 years.  Please feel free to share 

your Miss List in the comments.