I love being an Iowan. I'm proud of being from Iowa. I've never lived anyplace else. I'm not sure I would want to. I expect most people are partial to their home state for one reason or another.
What makes me so proud of Iowa? People from Iowa are considered to be: Honest. Intelligent. Friendly. Caring. Educated. Helpful. Hard working. Reliable. I always felt we were special when Iowa students still rated at the top compared to the other states.
My love of Iowa goes back to the study of her history when I was in sixth grade. There were two definitions of the Indian word from whence came our state name. One was that Iowa meant "Beautiful Land" the other that it meant "Land Between the Rivers". I like that two of our borders are made up by rivers - the "Mighty Mississippi" on the east and the Big Sioux and "Muddy Missouri" on the west.
It used to irritate me when I heard people say there was nothing to see in Iowa but cornfields - or that our state was flat. Why couldn't they see the beauty of the gently rolling hills or of the patchwork quilt effect of our fields? Didn't they ever notice the ethereal mists along the river valleys or wonder about the cat steps of the Loess Hills?
When I learned more men from Iowa fought in the Civil War than from any other state (on a per capita basis) it gave new meaning to our State Motto: "Our Liberties We Prize And Our Rights We Will Maintain." And I didn't have to know Latin to understand it.
Planning for retirement brought discussions of "Where do we want to retire?" We talked of moving a little further south - Arkansas or Missouri; possibly New Mexico. Without having actually experienced living in any of those states, it is impossible to know whether I would have been content.
I just know I'm happy where I am. I love looking out at the changing surface of the pond, the now leafless silhouettes of the trees and the gentle hill to the west. I love seeing the deer, fox and turkeys out that same window and wondering where their dens and nests are.
I look forward to more visits to other locales. My heart is Iowa bound.
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