Gratitude and Roots

I have been back in the Midwest now for 6 months, and goodness, they have gone fast. I have so much to be grateful for in these months that I don't really know where to start.

I am working for IIHR again, and now mostly for the Iowa Flood Center as a research assistant. The opportunities for learning-- about Iowa, hydrology, technology, research, how science and policy happen separately and how they interact, and all the various institutions that interact to impact and manage the environment-- just at the weekly staff meetings are incredible.

I am close to family and old friends again, which is just beautiful.

I am READING. I am especially trying to learn about Iowa's environment, past and present, but have learned that I read my Goal Books faster if I also let myself read widely and for fun. Being motivated by lists to a kind of ridiculous extent, I've found Goodreads really helpful to keep track of what I have read and what I want to read (50 books last year! 10 already in 2013!). I also made a list there of Iowa nature and history books that anyone can vote on or add to, and I'd love to hear if you have any recommendations!

Iowa looks very different now that I haven't lived here my whole life. Details of landscape and wildlife and food and smalltalk seem less obvious and more precious. I feel like there are Big Things I have learned living abroad that I can express better here than anywhere else, and that I have almost found my voice for expressing them.

I've had a hard time writing this first-post-in-a-long-time. I feel like I need to have bigger ideas better writing to share, but I am just going to post this for now and let it serve as my blog throat-clearing so I can get into the habit of writing here again.