Musings on the Middle West

For a long time I said with great conviction and depth that I couldn't imagine moving back to the Midwest.  I was never quite sure where exactly I'd end up, but I was sure I knew where I wouldn't end up, and that was the very region in which I grew up.

Even when we moved to Iowa last May, I wasn't ready to commit to being a Midwesterner again. Yes, I was ready to break from the Pacific Northwest, at least for a time. I remember explaining it to family and friends as a need to stretch my wings, just like I'd needed to stretch them 8 years earlier when I left my lifelong home in Indiana at 18. But rest assured, when folks around here asked where we were from I was quick to answer: Oregon.


It's not only far away, the state is known for something - for lots of things really. An outstanding and breathtaking array of outdoor environments and a thriving and utterly progressive urban population are two of Oregon's qualities that most readily come to mind, but there are countless other things that make the state so special.  And, for a kid from IndiaNoPlace, Indiana, being there for so long somehow felt like it made me more special, especially when I came home. I guess it's a little conceited to admit to such a feeling but I do so because I am certainly not the only kid from the Midwest who felt like they barely escaped a dull life full of euchre and macaroni casserole by getting out while I could.

Only, now that I've been back in the region for a while, I totally don't feel that way anymore.  Not even a little bit.  I feel excited to be here. I feel like I am bringing something really valuable to the region and like I have a lot to learn from other folks doing the same.  I feel like I get this place in a way I could never quite get the Pacific Northwest, yet I am seeing it through much more appreciative eyes. It's like a really good pair of shoes that I shoved in the back of the closet for 8 years and am now totally psyched to rediscover. Jeez Midwest, why did I write you off for so long??  Kinda makes me feel like an idiot. 

But at least I'm an idiot with a place to belong. I belong here because this is where I was shaped.  I belong here because I understand and appreciate the subtleties of Midwestern culture and life.  I belong here because I can actually withstand the heat and humidity.  I belong here because I have the option to make a quick weekend trip to see my family, no flight reservations needed.  But mostly, I belong here because I want to be here.

Middle West, I may not (actually, I probably don't) always agree with your conservative politics, your love for car racing, or your weight problem, but I will never dog you as a whole again. Thanks for welcoming me home - after 27 years I am finally glad to be here.