Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family.

Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.

~Jane Howard

I had a HUGE realization this week--one that I thought I have had before, but it never fully sank it until today. I used to be one of those teens who "couldn't wait to move away and on my own." I thought I had my whole life planned out. I was going AWAY to college, I was going to end up on some wonderful island in Hawaii or Floridia, where the "real beauty" was in the ocean, amazing weather, and let's not forget, the guys in swim trunks! Then, I ended up going to Benedictine College in the middle of Kansas of all places, it is not all that different from Iowa. But it was okay because I was 3 hours away from home--not too far, but still away, but it didn't matter because as soon as I graduated there I had plans to move to a coast again---I didn't need the midwest, I needed to make my life somewhere else. Well...along the line, something changed and I decided it would be okay to spend a year..."but just a year" in KC. Now, as the constant friends living on the same floor of Ferrell, freedom of skipping a class here or there after a late night, college life has ended, my perspective has changed dramatically.

Now, I see that the cornstalks, farm fields, and the late night whistle of the Atchi-trains have just as much beauty as the white sandy beaches and ocean tides, a different beauty, but certainly not a lesser kind.

Being near family is so utterly important to me &, now, after about 8 years of denying that I really longed to stay in the midwest near the people I love most, I can admit it to myself & to everyone, I love the midwest. And I love it most of all because my family is here. Now, sometimes, 3 hours seems so far away and I long to be in Des Moines, to the city I was born & raised in. It is funny how you start to get out on your own and you realize how much you cherish the memories from the past, the traditions, the comforts, and mostly the dailyness.

Today, my grandparents, who are the absolute stability in my life and I owe so much to them, drove all the way to KC to be at my apartment to let the internet guy in to fix my internet since I had to watch the kids and no one could come home early to allow me to get to my apartment to get my internet fixed, which is vital, as I am taking an online class. That is how I was raised...no matter how far, no matter what is going on, you do for your family & never count the cost. I've been so blessed with a wonderful family. My dad, holds the values his parents taught him, & I was lucky enough to have my dad & my grandparents me constant examples of what it means to have unconditional love for your family, friends, & even strangers. My grandparents are like parents to me and have been my whole life. I would not be who I am today without them & my wonderful Dad. Today, as they pulled out of the driveway, I cried. They were tears of sadness as I knew they had to get back home and I didn't get much time with them, tears of joy that they are such blessing in my life, and tears of utter love! So---midwest---it looks like you're stuck with me forever--I never want to move away from the beauty of your fields. (Something I never thought I'd say.)

Picture: My grandma and Me---diana, do you think she & I look alike?