Wrangler Dani

Going back to Texas a couple of weeks ago made me a little homesick… or maybe “ACU-sick” if that makes any sense. It felt so natural and normal to be heading South in the fall, back to 90-degree weather and those giant Texan blue skies, broken only by the equally huge billboards and occasional thunderhead.

Everyone’s car A/C is on High, so normal for any Southerner but so odd to me, with my love of rolled-down windows and spoiled sense of what “hot” is. I’ve missed that. I miss Route 44 Diet Coke for 76 cents between three and five, I miss those wide, endless skies and unspeakable sunsets, I miss the reunion of roommates and friends and the anticipation of a new school year.

I miss knowing people almost everywhere you go in Abilene, let alone on campus. I miss when going to Wal-Mart was a group activity. I miss those random free hours during the day, when we had time to kill between 11:30 and 2 pm, and watched the Cosby Show or printed out Art projects or even slept on the couch. I miss feeling competent, getting a grade back on a paper that made me proud of my hard work. I even miss feeling challenged, the countless times when I turned in a project or story that didn’t cut it, and when I was told so in no uncertain terms. I miss knowing what I had to do to succeed. I miss having a Blue Book or a Scantron be the only thing that dictated my highs and lows.

I miss having a porchlight rule. I miss Midnight Breakfast. I miss Roommate Talks and non-talks, those comfortable silences of sisterhood. I miss kick-boarding with Megan, keeping our heads above water so we could gab the whole way up and down the pool. I miss Sex in the City Fridays. I miss CFF. I miss Chapel, with all the cheesy talks and random “woo!”s and sitting in Section C. I miss Beltway.

I miss walking in the torrential rains of Texas, or sitting, listening to them bash against the house and feeling so cozy inside. I miss driving the Loop. I miss going to the Zoo and feeding the Giraffes. I miss selling my soul to the Optimist. I miss writing in the middle of the night, just because the mood struck. I miss random road trips. I miss Spring Break.

I miss Texas. I think, no matter how far away I roam, I’ll always want to return in the fall, sharpen up my pencils, embrace that big sky and get a fresh start.