He had dark cropped hair, a trim moustache, a big ol' lone star pin, and a comforting Texas drawl -- the kind that is both a reassurance that all is well and a warning to toe the line. He was the man checking my passport before Customs in the DFW airport. To my surprise (grown accustomed to British reserve), he returned my perky smile with that funny half-smile that moustaches make.
"Now what have you been doing all the way over in England?"
"Studying in Oxford for four months!" Or maybe my whole life.
"Well then, welcome home, ma'am. We're glad to have you back."
Ahhhhhh, I've been anticipating this feeling for so long. The wide-open, personal, exuberant, endless-possibilities, frontier taste of America. And the direct look in the eye, the chatty intimacy of strangers. It's actually taking me longer to warm up to it than I thought it would. I forgot that transitions take time. But, gosh, culture is so amazing. And ours is a lovely, vast, many-colored tapestry that I love.
But now I have a few new traditions to add to the book called "My Life." Like tea with milk and sugar. And scones with clotted cream. And cloth shopping bags.
Today when I was on a run, every person I passed looked up, smiled, and gave a little wave. ::sigh::
Transitions are just a part of the rich fabric of life. My life is really blessed.
And my back is sunburned. Thank you, Texas, for sunshine again.
Hey Texas,
ReplyDeleteWe at Covenant College appreciate the fact that you wanted to give Hannah a warm welcome, but you must know that we do not approve of theft, and it is clear that you stole every bit of good weather that we once called our own. Actually, its been rather ridiculous. We had a tornado warning the other night and most of my friends were forced to hide in Catacombs to wait out the danger. I was outside today, yeah, well heres the deal, when it switches between rain and sunshine at least eight times within the space of an hour, something is wrong. Also, I had to wear a sweatshirt and a coat tonight. Whats with that? So honestly, please just give our warm weather back.
Love,
Lookout Mountain