Home sick for Boulder

I know I talk a lot about the fact that home is in Missouri (and damn proud of it... Go Tigers!).  But I also think that "home" can be used to describe a place that gives me a feeling of peace and well-being, filling me with hope and promise and excitement just to think about it.  So then, "homesick" becomes a longing and general despondency that I can't help but acknowledge when just thinking about home is not enough.  I have a real physical need to actually be there.

And so last Friday night, I was so homesick that I watched Catch and Release, one of the worst films ever made, from start to finish.  It is so jam-packed with Boulder, CO references and scenes from Pearl St., Spruce St., the Boulder Creek Path and the Peace Park.  Of course, I dropped everything and snuggled into the couch.  And, I'm not entirely pathetic for doing so.  It does have some good eye candy! (I love chin dimples).

There is one line from the movie that is so dead on it is scary:  "This place is like a Patagonia Disneyland… Everyone is happy all the time."  So true!  And as the "daylight" (take this with a grain of salt) shortens and the rains come to Oregon, I count the days until I will travel Colorado to spend Thanksgiving with my second family (A&E).

But these bouts of homesickness are infrequent and seem to coincide with something... I can't think of what it is ;-)  And I have found that I am beginning to settle into my life in Oregon (finally) and have found pleasure in the most unexpected places... sharing dog walks with Marsh-mallow and Erika, twice-weekly forested commutes with Heather, racing cyclocross, the richness of the food.  And even the smallness of Corvallis is starting to grow on me as I discover favorite places to run, ride, get a massage, drink mocha on a Sunday morning, the best bagel sandwich, a hair person, running buddies, and quiet sanctuaries within walking distance of the lab.

Peace.