Homesick, sort of

It's funny, the things I have ended up missing about the cities I have lived in. None of them are the things that I expected to miss. Of course, I miss my family and friends and even acquaintances, I have found, but I planned for that. In Columbia, I really miss our cute apartment. I think we just had so many good times there. We were living there when we got married and when we got Daisy. I also miss my drive to Rosewood Market to go to work. In Charlotte, I miss morning. I used to get up and walk my dog around the apartment complex when it was still cool outside, then Nick and I would fight over the one bathroom in our one bedroom apartment (Note: couples need more space than a one bedroom apartment, no matter how compatible and in love you are). Then we would ride to work together since we both worked downtown, err uptown, or whatever they call it. The ride to work gave us time to talk and complain about our jobs, and it gave me time to eat my breakfast and do my makeup and do some backseat driving, which Nick LOVES. Our ride to work was pretty. There were nice houses on a residential street all the way to downtown. I also miss downtown. Nick and I would try to wait as long as we could before we went to lunch, then we would meet at one of the many non-chain eateries Charlotte has to offer on a weekday. It was the hottest summer of my life, neither of us had ever experienced summer in full work attire, but I miss it. When we left Dallas I expected to only miss my house. We didn't fall in love with much in Texas. I did cry when it was time to leave our house, we did a lot of work on it, plus it was beautiful. But now I realize that I miss the vast array of Mexican restaurants, there was cheap mexican food, fast mexican food, bad mexican food, really good mexican food, expensive mexican food and trendy mexican food. It was great. I also miss the Arboretum. If you are in Dallas, you should go, it is an oasis in a concrete jungle. I think most of all I miss the open, sunny sky. The ground was so flat and the sky was so big that possibilities really felt endless. And now, here I am in Richmond. I love it. I think we found a really good fit for us. I almost wish we hadn't so we could move back to Charlotte or Columbia and be closer to our friends and family, but, darnit, we like it. All of this moving has taught us a lot about ourselves and what we are looking for in life. First being, that we will never commute more than 30 minutes. It just isn't worth it when what we really want is to be at home with each other. Second, we like scenery. Trees, hills, green stuff. Third, we can't live in a city with 5 million other people. We like open spaces. I wonder what Richmond will show me that will stick with me.