Ten things I love about Arkansas

I'm in Arkansas for the week. I never thought it would be so hard to leave work for an entire five days! For as much stress and exhaustion my job gives me, you'd think I'd be glad for a week away! But it's driving me crazy! I hooked my email up so I could read work emails from my laptop. Bad idea. Now I'm reading all these emails asking me to do things I can do nothing about until I get home! Ah! I do love my hometown, thought, and Arkansas is a great state! Here are the top ten things I like about Arkansas:

1. The coca-cola picture in my parents' guest room - it's situated so I can look at it while I get ready in the bathroom, and the longness of the picture warps the glass so I look skinnier than I actually am (for once, a mirror works IN my favor!)

2. The roads here make sense! When I'm driving down the highway I'm not constantly thinking, "What was going through your heads, geniuses, when you designed these roads? You guys are idiots!"

3. Jakin, Anna and Mikaiah - You had to know they'd be on the list somewhere! These three cuties are wonderfully precious, and spending a whole week with them is like winning the lottery!

4. The rest of my family - I enjoy spending time with all of my family. They're each completely unique and wonderful.

5. Running into people I haven't seen in years - It's really cool to come into Panera Bread and see a girl that I knew in college that I never saw for years - even when I was living there! I like that. Especially because they have no idea what a rarity it is that I'm there. They don't appreciate the coincidence, but I do.

6. Lessening the pain - There are several painful memories I left in Arkansas, and they're always so much more present when I come back. But it's kind of like a bruise or a cut or something. The more you push it and force it to hurt, the less it actually hurts. Old wounds are healing, and that makes me happy.

7. It's 62 degrees outside. Yeah, you heard me. Be jealous.

8. Being forced to kill time - I'm usually concerned with making every moment count, getting the most out of the free time that I have. I had to kill 6 hours today between my lunch and dinner appointments, and I couldn't go home because it was too far away. So I got to watch a matinee ($8.50 for a matinee, can you believe it??? that's not one of my favorite things), wander around a few shops in the Promenade, and now I'm hanging out at a Starbucks playing on my computer. I love the pace change!

9. Reflection and self-evaluation - All the free time combined with all the familiar faces and places have made me think a lot about who I was, who I am, how I've changed, and what needs to still change. I think everyone should always take the time to self-evaluate every once in awhile.

10. Everyone is excited to see me! When I walk into church, people go crazy because I've been gone for so long and they're happy to see me. I love it; I feel like a rock star :)

I love Arkansas, but I miss Oklahoma too. I think I'm going to claim dual-citizenship. I tried to upload some pictures, but it's not working. I'm blaming Starbucks. Down with the man!