I kinda thought that I might grow old and die in Ames…. of course, there is still time to move back and all. Needless to say, I have found myself missing Ames a lot these days, and here is a short list in no particular order…..
1. CyRide… though I was feeling like the service had changed a lot in the past ten years, I miss the familiarity of riding, knowing all the crazy people, and it only taking 35 minutes to get home at night!!!
2. Wal*Mart…. can I say that the north grand wal*mart is by far better than any other out there??
3. Independence…. In Ames, I knew where things were and I could get to them on my own…. I am at a total loss of how to do that here.
4. being in a group of people with so much shared history… good, bad, or otherwise, there is a certain amount of security in being with people you have known well for many years.
5. Cookies, etc…. their cinnamon rolls are beyond belief tasty
that is the short list…. if i were to allow myself the freedom to recite the long list, I would probably get all depressed and weepy.
Mrs Claus House 
Changes, even good ones, are always difficult (and stressful). I hope you have lots of opportunities to reconnect with your friends in Ames.
thankfully, i do!!