At "Home" in Oklahoma

We've been home since Saturday, and plan on heading back to Iowa this Saturday. The roads are opening back up, although the flooding isn't over. That is to say, all the waters have not receded in Iowa City and Coralville and traffic is extremely congested. But, we can get back and forth to some extent between home and school and that was a major contributing factor to the decision to go back this weekend.

Oddly, though, as I get around Oklahoma, it seems like I half expect to experience Iowa. I expect roads to be closed or stores to be closed, or basically, to be living in flood-stage. I've been paying close attention to what's been going on there, and my friend Yeon text messages me with updates; her text that I-380 was open came at 6:30 in the morning. Yes, I was up. The baby, however, was not.

It's not unusual to have this sense of duality when we come home. I have a hard time remembering what the channel numbers are here in Oklahoma, and I'm still surprised to see Oklahoma license plates in Oklahoma. Eric and I do notice the rather stark differences between home and home; namely, that the women are so much more made up here in Oklahoma. In Iowa, once a woman has a few kids, she dons the frumpy Iowa mom cut that I took on in March and stops wearing makeup or fitting clothes. Here in Oklahoma, it seems moms hit the gym.

Also, for every sedan in the parking lot, there are two or three trucks or SUVs here in Oklahoma. My little Mazda gets sandwiched between massive trucks that are usually red if we're in Norman, and more often than I like, they have "W" stickers somewhere. Although Iowans are loyal to their schools, there's no fan like a Sooner fan. Like the Oklahoma license plates, when I'm here, I still get excited when I see OU regalia, thinking we've come across another expatriate Sooner fan before realizing that driver was only one of a million others in the state.

I'm not having as hard a time with the warm weather as I thought I would. Yes, it's warm, but it actually feels good. I can still wear jeans in 90 degree+ weather.

Finally, Eric and Katie went to Owasso today with Regina and his parents to see his grandmother and other relatives. I never like having a day to myself as much as I think I should; I was pretty grumpy as I buckled Katie up into the Martins' Camry and said bye-bye. She didn't wave back, which she has been doing this week and its extremely adorable, but as I went back inside Mom's house, I remembered this Family Circus cartoon strip Mom and Dad had tacked onto the fridge when I was a kid. In one scene, everything's grey, the family bird is drooping, and Mom and Dad are skulking sadly around the house. In the next, the kids come home, everything's in color, the bird is singing and Mom and Dad are jubilant. That's how I feel- I miss my baby- my house just feels empty without her around. They'll be home in a few hours, I know, but until then, I'm just a little sad without Katie around.