thinking...and missing

Wow....for some reason my mind has been racing since I woke up this morning! I'm usually JUST getting up, but today I was wide awake before 10! This is very unusual for this week because Sean has been on night shifts, so I stay up until he comes home for "lunch" at midnight and then he usually wakes me up when he gets back between 3-6am. So sleeping in has been a must! But anyway, today was different for some reason. May have been my body pillow that I finally got that helped me sleep!? ;) Maybe it was those fruit smoothies Kristin and I had right before bed...whatever it was I feel pretty good today!

So, back to why I'm actually posting. My thoughts....I got on FB this morning just to get updates from the last 12 hours since I last logged in (really, it's much more fun to look at it first thing in the morning since all of my west coast ppl usually post after I'm in bed). For some reason all the pictures I'm seeing of Oregon are making me SOOOO homesick! I haven't felt like this in a long time! For the past couple of years I have really thought of Georgia as more of my home, because it was. I guess now that I'm not there anymore, and really don't have a place to call home yet, "home" really is Oregon and I want to go there so bad!

I'm going to blame it on pregnancy, but I miss it so much I'm in tears! Seriously! I have always missed the people there: my family, childhood and high school friends, but I've always said I love the South and think we will live here someday. No, that is definitely not the case now. I do love the South. I usually, except for this summer, love the heat, I love the people here, I love the diversity, I love the beaches. But, it's just not home. I guess spending the first 19 years of my life in the NW is really catching up to me now....I may have taken it for granted :(

I have to add that I DO love the Army. I am very thankful for all it has provided us with over the past 5 years. But sometimes, days like today, I really hate it.

This is what I miss the most about my home state:
-My family. I hate that I'm missing out on a portion of my parents and brothers lives that we won't be able to get back, and that their missing out on mine. I see them once or twice a year, and it just isn't enough (well, I'm also going on almost 8 months without seeing them so it's hitting me pretty hard!). If we have to be so far away, I think we should be able to see each other at LEAST 3 times a year. Maybe it will change once this baby gets here. Idk..but after Sean goes to WOCS and flight school, I would LOVE to head up North to be closer! Hopefully he can get something in Colorado or Washington, that would be fantastic.
-the rest of my family. I hate that I can't go see my grandparents, or cousins or aunts and uncles anytime I want to. Growing up I felt like we were all really close. Now, I feel like we are so very distant. And it doesn't help that we really are! Its hard to stay in touch with 13 cousins and their  kids when you're all the way across the country. I love how our family does holidays. Well, at least Christmas...we have been able to go home for most Christmas' since we moved here, but won't be able to this year as I'll be 9 months pregnant and huge....hey, if I travel up there and just HAVE to have the baby there, will Tricare pay for it?! I would seriously consider it! lol

cousins, grandparents, brother in dad and moms backyard

-I miss the seasons. Yes, I know it rains a lot there. That is one of the things I usually miss the least about it. But in months like July down here when it doesn't rain for weeks on end, and if it does it's because of a storm, which means thunder, lightning, wind and maybe an hour long down poor that evaporates slowly into the air causing problems breathing or keeping your makeup in place! Uh, ya...different kind of rain. But, I miss how it is cold in the winter, warmer in the spring (okay maybe not so much warmer, but the flowers were pretty!), warmest in the summer, and fall is...well, Oregon fall's are just pretty. Georgia falls, and I can imagine SC falls, are pretty much non existent....we call fall SUMMER. Summer lasts from May to October here. It may feel cooler because it's not 95 degrees anymore, but you still don't need a jacket when you go out at night. Oh, and the leaves don't really change colors. They just turn brown. Okay...SOME do, but the majority of areas down here are ugly during the fall.

not a huge fan of skiing anyway, but I would enjoy learning again (if that is possible)

-The outdoors. Not like I've always been a huge outdoorsy person, but I would looove to be! I have wanted to go hiking in GA several times, but we always have the same excuses, "eh, it's too hot", or "there's snakes and tics..ew". Ya, there's nothing like hiking and camping in Oregon. When I went to Tadmor with Melissa one summer, we didn't even have tents, we just slept under the stars for the week. It was so peaceful and fresh. Here...you don't sleep in a tent you die! Okay, not a literal death, but death by spiders, tics, and mosquitos bites! Not a very fun and peaceful experience...  I want to be able to go to the snow in the winter and go camping in the summer. Even the cold coast looks appealing right now! It's pretty there! You may not really feel warm enough to layout and get a tan, but you can relax and enjoy God's beautiful nature! I think I could even turn Sean into an outdoorsy person if we were up there! There really is a lot to do.

 

camping July 2010

Hiking at the gorge Jul 2010

-my friends. Yes, I've made friends, and I'm sure I will continue to wherever the Army takes us, but it's always great to catch up with old friends and continue to "grow up" with them. One thing that no one here can share with me is my childhood. My friends in Oregon can. You know? We grew up together, went to school together, and spent the most memorable times in our lives together. That's something I want to continue to share wih them.

Alright, enough of that for today.....