Why I Love Texas

by Rhonda Wittmer
I am a telehealth RN whose co-workers are from all over the country.  It’s 0241 am, and the calls are not exactly pouring in right now.  People with good sense are asleep.  One of my co-workers and I were talking about men, and somehow, the subject changed from that to Texas.  Specifically, I was telling my co-worker from Virginia why I love Texas.
As a transplant of 14 years, I have lots of life experience in other places to which I can compare my life as a Texan.  I was born in Ohio and grew up in Georgia.  (Do you see the conflict already?)   Forgive me, but I also spent a few years living in Oklahoma. I’ve been half way around the world a couple times, too.  It wasn’t until I got to Texas that I felt as if I was really home.
narnia

Narnia Tree – Rhonda Wittmer copyright 2012:
This magic tree can be found at Veteran’s Park in Arlington, Texas

Why do I love Texas?  It is a place where someone can unapologetically be herself.  Whether ‘country’ or ‘city,’ heathen or Christian, liberal or conservative, there’s a place for her here.  In Texas, she can wear her boots with a dress or with jeans.  She can be a ‘weird’ artistic type and a gainfully employed responsible person at the same time.  As for me, in Texas, I am who I am.  No one here knows my mama and everyone in my gene pool.  They have no one with whom to compare me.  It is a place where I have successfully invented and re-invented myself a few times.  All of these incarnations have found a comfortable home and an expanding network of friends.
 
My sister came from Calgary (the ‘Fort Worth’ of Canada) to escape the freezing weather in April.  Sunshine and blooming trees made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  We spent some time enjoying the outdoors at Veteran’s Park in Arlington.  This tree is one of my favorites, and of course, I have photos of this same tree several consecutive seasons.  Now that she has visited, she knows my network of friends, and she loves Texas, too!

Click here if you’re a Texan by Choice too!

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