There are a few things I miss from my childhood home. Thunderstorms, fireflies, raccoons, and deer. Dirt roads with spontaneously placed quaint neighborhoods. Stray cats, dark summer evenings, and little church events that bring entire towns together. We don't have those things here. I haven't seen lightening or heard thunder in over two years. I cringe when I think that my children may never see a firefly if they are raised here. Raccoons and deer are replaced with lynx and weasels. My heartfelt neighborhoods are now native villages. I've always hoped that someday I'll drive along and find a stray cat... but those things just don't happen here. The darkness brings beautiful northern lights though, and the elders here don't attend church- but rather teach Yup'ik. There are always things I'll miss from a time long ago, and I'll have times when I just want to run back. But a part of me knows I was never met to stay there- and someday I'll find this home beholds just as many sentimental treasures.
