"what kind of alcohol will you be having?"

In the twenty or so years I've spent in Texas, not once was I ever asked this at a restaurant. Until this week, that is. Big deal? Not so much. Just surprising...
A few days ago, I had the way cool chance to meet two new friends. Off I went to Abilene, where I would meet with them both. The evening was great, and well worth the trip. Went to see a movie, went to dinner, then headed off to a panel discussion.
Back to dinner, though, I suppose the waiter was let down that between the three of us at the table, there was no alcohol to be found. Only a water and two Dr. Peppers. The experience was worth a smile, but was just one more experience that reminds me how much I've had to readjust to life outside of Utah. I thought adjusting to life in Provo, "the bubble", in all it's glory, was strange enough. Leaving it behind, though, I've come to realize just how much I came to love it. And, I'll even dare say, I miss it.
So, I am home now. And it will always be "home" as I was born and raised here in the brown, flat, arid land that is West Texas. It's not without its charm, although you probably have to look for it. It's not without its qualities, although again, you'll likely have to really ponder that to come up with a reasonable list. Nonetheless, this is where my roots are.

So, what happens when the roots are in Texas, but the fruit is in Utah?

Or anywhere else for that matter?

What happens when you fall in love with a place and end up leaving it? When it feels like you left a part of yourself there, not only because you love it, but perhaps because you want something to go back to, if or when you do indeed return? Or maybe even as some form of payment. I'll give you this part of me in return for what you gave me when I was here. Make sense?
And it was no small thing, what I got from my time in the Beehive State. It was there, these past six years that I really grew up, became independent, learned to rely on myself, learned to trust my friends, but not everyone I met, and realized the value of family, now that they were a thousand miles away. Among other things...
And the natural beauty? -- It speaks volumes without ever having to utter a word. You should check it out sometime. Especially in the fall, when the colors are turning. Or in the spring, when nature is occupied in its own rebirth. The natural world making a brilliant testament to its creator is simply amazing. One of those things in life where words really can't explain something. You've simply got to see it. And feel it.

So for now, I am back at home. Trying to make the best of it. Most of my close friends are gone, and getting back into the swing of things is taking more effort than I thought. But things will turn out fine. Of that, I am pretty darn sure.