Our days are numbered

The countdown is on: 135 days left on Hawaii. Thinking about our move to Kansas prompted me to come up with yet another list:

What I’ll miss:

1. rainbows and double rainbows
2. watching newly hatched geckos emerge from my closet for the first very time and knowing they’ll drive the cats nuts (until they grow big and fat and the cats can catch them)
3. my kids being in the racial minority on the playground and in school
4. swimming with green sea turtles and watching whales and dolphins from the beach
5. coming across a hula or Tahitian dance practice at the community park
6. the weather and lack of seasons

What I’m looking forward to:

1. twice as much square footage for half the rent
2. Dunkin Donuts (I haven’t had a good donut since we left for Japan seven years ago)
3. Target, Kohl’s and other retailers like that (anything other than Walmart)
4. chain restaurants like Fridays or Applebees or even Olive Garden
5. independent bookstores
6. not paying $7 for a jug of milk (don’t get me started on the price of gas)

What I’m not looking forward to:

1. the 15-month DEPLOYMENT
2. homogenized communities
3. four seasons + the flu season
4. tornados
5. religion (The Bible Belt)
6. trying to find a new babysitter