Stateside

Ironically, I used to where a hat, some of you may remember it, with a patch of the US Flag on it, inscribed with the words, “Love it, or Leave it”. Ironic because I do love it, and yet still left for an extended amount of time. And while I now understand there are more than just those two options, I still cannot wait to come back and wear that hat again, and be surrounded, albeit temporarily, by everything that is America. Because I’ve been gone a long time now.

14 months. That’s how long I have been living outside of the country, down here in Nicaragua. 14 months full of enough memories to write a book about, riddled with anguish and ecstasy. But come this Friday, the 6^th, the streak ends. That’s right, in two short days; I’ll be boarding a plane, and will touch down in my native land just as most of you will be finishing up the work day. It feels strange to say native land, because I envision in my mind others returning to their third world native countries, after an extended stay (planned or unplanned) on another side of the world. To me the word native implies something undeveloped, savage almost in nature. So my return home, to my native land, is some what of an oxymoron in my mind. Because my native land happens to be the good ole, US of A.

And those three initials, USA, now have a lot more sentiment and meaning to them. The obvious being my friends and family, who I eagerly await to see. But really, it’s in the small things that go overlooked. It’s sitting comfortably in public transportation, without the gut of some middle-aged man or women resting on your shoulder. It’s dog’s that won’t attack you or give you an unwanted disease (Gooch, Tre, I’m coming boys!). It’s girls that like to stay in good shape and maintain themselves. It’s springers at the ECBC. It’s a tasty bacon, egg, or cheese or monstrous hamburger. There’s so many things that are flowing through my head that I’ve missed these past months, that I’m indeed having trouble falling asleep at night. So friends, family, think about the small things while you’re celebrating our independence day, and enjoy a delicious American ale for me as well!

Two days. I’ll see you all then.