Why I moved to Texas

I realize how much this post title could be likened to a third grade report on what I did this summer (which is more truthful than I originally realize) but it is what I was thinking and so it stays. I admit that up until I was ten I had little to no interest in Texas other than it was a place I had never been, but a year later it was the place that I desired to be more than anywhere else. You see, a lot can happen in a year and my entire life changed that particular year. I met my best friend, Bernadette, at a wedding in California. At the time she lived in Michigan but shortly after our first meeting she moved to Texas. In addition to this, my favorite aunt and godmother got married and moved to, you guessed it, Texas. Now this may or may not make sense (as I am fairly certain I rarely make sense in general) but although these were both good reasons to move to Texas in the first place, they were not the reason.

The reason was much simpler/complicated than that. About half a year before either of them moved down South my family visited the corner of Texas closest to California. At this point in my life I hated road trips (usually because without fail I got to sit next to the kid who would vomit five minutes into the five hour drive where there was nowhere to get off, thus once again proving Murphy's Law). This particular road trip proved to be about the same, except when we got wherever it was that we were going, and stopped, it was legitimately cold outside. As I may have previously mentioned, I grew up in Southern California, about ten minutes from Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, and the beach. This may explain why the experience of actually being cold, outside, and nowhere near a walk in freezer, stuck with me. To add icing to the cake, it snowed the next morning. I had seen snow a few times in my life but it never stayed long and I had never seen it fall before; I don't think I even knew it could do that. Again, city girl. It was on that enchanted morning, when I was running around with my brothers, trying to gather enough snow to make a snow ball or catch a snowflake on our tongues (and then sitting their in confusion when it melted), I fell in love with Texas. When we left a few hours later I was very sad... and then I threw up. Keep in mind that this was Christmas Eve, and we were staying the night at my Tio John and Tia Leslie's house... in Phoenix... and all our clothes were packed and dirty. Through some act of God my Tia had gotten me clothes for Christmas which I took as a sign that I was not supposed to be miserable and that I would return to Texas someday.

Last summer I kept my promise to myself and moved out here and established residency. And then it hit me- the magnitude of what my moving to Texas would mean- no beach, no mountains, limited family, few tourists, and NO Disneyland!!!! I think it was the last point that had the biggest impact on me. Although I miss my family and laughing at tourists... they both visit me here.... Disneyland does not, but that is another blog post for another time.

Sometime after moving here a well meaning man asked me what were the differences between California and Texas. I was too polite to tell him there but I instantly started making an excel format in my head. For brevity's sake I did not include that list here and instead shortened it.

In California...

...the Mexicans will speak to you in Spanish.

...words are pronounced correctly (I spent a month trying to find "Gwad-a-loop" Street in Austin. Turns out it is spelt "Guadalupe.")

...we have real beaches with real waves.

...the streets have the same name at the beginning, middle, and end and for the most part they all go in a straight line. This brings me to

...the streets are a giant grid so if you miss a turn you go to the next road and make the turn there and then make a left to get back on the road you missed.

...the drivers usually go the speed limit and they usually drive on the road. It is very unusual to see either of these laws broken.

...the street signs are illuminated and big enough for you to see before you pass them.

...there is never three streets with almost identical names within a mile.

...people do not visibly cringe when they hear where you are from if it is not in Texas.

...there is a Disneyland.

...there are wineries.

...it is called a "freeway" cause it is free.

...you do not have to parallel park on your driving test.

...there are the most beautiful sunsets, bar none.

and my absolute favorite... in California we do not have road signs that say to obey the road signs.

After drafting this list it occurred to me that it would be dreadfully unfair to only suggest what Texas is lacking. Therefore I compose the following as well.

In Texas...

...people help each other out without reason and with nothing to gain (last year there was a very nice man who helped me push my broken truck to the side of the road after my breaks stopped working and I could not get it out of traffic. And there was another man this week who helped me get my lawnmower to work after it decided to hate me.)

...people are insulted if you do not ask them for help when you need it.

...it is not common sport to pick on the tourists.

...everyone is very welcoming.

...they have this great invention called "tex-mex"

...there are wide open spaces without people outside of the desert and you can see the sunrise uninhibited by buildings.

...they sell sushi in the supermarket.

...they have wildflowers EVERYWHERE!!!!

...I can wear my cowboy boots without looking weird.

...they have the most beautiful blue skies (except when it is raining, but hey, then it's raining!!!)

...they have seasons.

...there are three Catholic Churches within fifteen minutes of my house and not one of them has an impossible to spell/pronounce name.

...rain is not considered severe weather conditions.

...(this one is from Bronwyn) they have cowboys.

...you cannot kill an opossum (okay, I'm not thrilled about that one).

And my favorite part about Texas... Texans have cute little accents.

Although I strongly suspect Texans have such bad roadsigns so you have to stop and talk to them, and get sucked into their way of life, I admit the place is growing on me. Someday I might get used to the fact that the street names change four times in a seven minute drive, and the my neighbor gets offended if I do not ask her for help, and that everywhere I go there seems to be a strange white pickup that is always helping me out. Ah well, I'm willing to chalk that last one up to divine intervention... cause ya know, God blessed Texas. ;)