…so we left Texas in some stormy weather - drove through a lot of rain in Louisiana, but still made it to the Florida line before dusk.

Early in the a.m. we’ll finish the drive.  Yea!

There has just been so…much this summer - so much packing and unpacking, so much traveling, so much being out of our regular routine and environment.  It’s been fun and sometimes relaxing, but I’m really ready to be home.

Saturday night we stayed at a hotel in Beaumont.  It used to be the Hilton, but has changed ownership over the years.  It was kind of surreal to spend the night of our 20 year high school reunion there…specifically.

Before my family moved to Texas in 1986, my dad went “in view of a call” to be the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Beaumont.  I flew out from my boarding school in North Carolina and met my family.  We stayed in the Hilton.

I was just a simple Florida girl and Texas was overwhelming to me…

When my family moved away…back to Florida three years later, we stayed in that same Hilton on our last night in that town.

So, sitting in the lobby, waiting for Byron to check us in, I thought about how I felt there 22 years ago…and then again 19 years ago…

I’ve grown to love Texas…got married there, had my first child there - I’ve grown to understand it a little better than I did at 17.  I love to visit - I especially love to shop in Texas.  And sometimes I’m sad when we leave…

…but this time I’m just ready to be back home.

Reunions have a way of making you think of things you haven’t thought of in years - some memories are sweet, some not so much.  But all that upheaval has just made me wish for what I know best - it’s made me long for my little house, my dogs, my quirky habits (that usually revolve around coffee…), my small, but tight, circle of friends…

…and my Florida sunsets.

the sky’s not as big as in Texas, but it’s mine…

…my lavender/vanilla, crazy/moody, lightning-prone, beautiful to me…Florida sky.

I miss it…and am looking forward to sitting on my front porch and gazing at it while the crickets and tree-frogs welcome me home.

Peace to you all.