Homesick

It has been 154 days since I left Utah for Atlanta (or 5 months and 2 days) and I'm officially homesick. Previously, the longest I'd been away from home was...like, 2 months. Maybe. Probably more like a month and a half when I lived in Virginia. Don't get me wrong, Atlanta is great, and I'm enjoying life here, but it's just Not Home. Here are some things that I'm missing:

Family - I love my family tons, and I feel like I haven't seen them in forever! With the exception of Mindy and Jeran, because I actually see them tons more now, which is great. Dad did manage to stop by once on a twelve hour layover, which was good. I did get to visit Andrew and Lindsay and Riley in Pittsburgh, too. They're not Utah family though. So, special shout out to Mom and Alyna, both of whom I really really miss a lot! Extended family, too. (Lisa and Cameron, I miss you guys too, but you don't live in Utah. I'll come visit sometime though!)  

Friends - I'm getting lots of friends here, but that doesn't stop me from missing my friends in Logan and in Provo. Especially Erilyn Heintz, Sarah Hafen, April Atkin, and Mindy Pinson. Well, April is actually on her mission, so I wouldn't be able to see her anyway, but I still miss her. (Kalie, you're in Rexburg and I never saw you. We talk more now, but I can't wait to see you again!) 

Desert - I miss the open spaces and sparse beauty of Utah's deserts, especially the red rock areas. I enjoy having trees here, but they give a very uniform look to the landscape.  

Mountains - They're just so majestic and comforting to have near. Also, real hiking involves going up a mountain, not winding around some little trail next to a flat boring river or tiny little park.

Dry heat - It's hot here. Like, ridiculous - 95 degrees and it's only May. I think I might die this summer. The worst part is the humidity which makes the heat suffocating and makes you sweat about 7x more easily. I honestly don't know how people live in places even more hot and humid than this. 

Some aspects of my life at BYU - including my Landscape Management friends and professors, lots of people to go running with (that live nearby), BYU tree crew and all of the fun and chill-ness that implies, Spicy Thai restaurant, J-Dawgs, Jamba Juice, Zupa's, being able to just not go to classes if that's what I really wanted. 

And probably a bunch of other small things. Yep, I'm homesick. Even one of my coworkers noticed and commented on it. His advice was to go home as often as possible, even just for the weekend (yeah, because that works with a $500 plane ticket). I am planning on coming out for a good week and some odd days in August, so I just have to survive another 68 days.