Come Back to Texas...Bowling for Soup!

I love this song. And it really made me think. Go look it up on google and read the lyrics. Even better, listen to it. I LOVE IT!
It took me a while to decide whether or not to write this. But I decided that this is where I put it all out there, so I'm going to. I want to start with:
We are happy. Stephen called the radio this morning to answer a question and be entered into a drawing to win a trip to Euro Disney! We just got a bbq pit and will have outdoor furniture this weekend. My job is good. Stephen's job is good. He gets kudos from so many people in the community about what a great job he does with the observances, and he has been given added responsibilities (a definite sign of people knowing he is capable!) We, as a battalion, and really the whole community are breathing a sigh of relief that some of the deployment dates have been pushed back so there is more time for families to be together, to prepare for the separation, and for the soldiers to be combat ready. I had lunch with the other FRSAs yesterday. We called it a "working lunch" but really we just wanted to visit and eat Wingers (BEST restaurant!)

I say all this because I don't want any comments that say, "I'm so sorry you are miserable!" or anything like that. I'm not, but I want to be sure that everyone who lives in the greatest country on the face of the Earth realizes what they've got.

I miss my friends, my family, my home. That goes without saying. But there are so many things, little things, that I never considered. I took things for granted and wasn't thankful, even on Thanksgiving, for the little things that whisper freedom, America, home, Texas, convenience, favor, abundance.
Here is what I miss...
Knowing for absolute sure who has the right-of-way at all intersections
Blue Bell Ice Cream, Texmati rice, Mary Kay cosmetics
Air conditioning (but we have heated floors, so that's awesome in the winter!)
Country music on the radio (not to mention several stations)
Choices upon choices of anything you could possibly want in all colors, sizes, shapes and prices (without having to order them and deal with months of mail issues)
Being able to chose from those things on a Sunday, or during lunch hours, or after 4pm Saturday
The Gulf of Mexico
Bluebonnets, lightening bugs and St Augustine grass
Toilets that probably waste water, but there is enough tto rinse thoroughly with each flush
Jack in the Box, Wendy's, Sonic
Olive Garden, Carrabbas, MEXICAN FOOD!
English. Everyone speaking it. In the stores, at the restaurants, on the street.
Middle of the night fast food runs
Ordering water in a restaurant without a bru-ha-ha about still or bubbly
Ease of purchasing clothes in sizes you've known all your life
Stocking a large pantry and refrigerator
One kind of money. All the time. And bills/prices that stay the same, not going up depending on how the dollar is faring that day

Just a few things that I think about and miss sometimes. (Usually when I'm having a girl mood!) Stephen has lived in Korea before, so I think he was a little more aware of what an overseas tour meant than I was.

Again...not unhappy. Just keenly aware of what America means to me.