I have been yearning to write about my home of Pittsburgh (mostly because I want to be cool like PittGirl, if you must know). There really is something special about Pittsburgh – unexpectedly warm, beautiful, funny, and wise. Anyone who lives in Pittsburgh has a lifetime of stories about this place, and there’s a cute, wry sort of evangelism in the way that Pittsburghers tell you about the crazy reasons why their town is so lovable. Who wouldn’t want to wax poetic if they lived here?
A problem arises: I don’t live in Pittsburgh. Not now, anyway. For the last several years, I’ve been living and working far, far west of Youngstown, and I’ve been homesick pretty much every minute of that time. Especially at this time of year, when the leaves here don’t turn Technicolor, the air doesn’t turn fabulously crisp and clear, the sweaters stay in their boxes, and you buy pumpkins and cider at Walmart, not out at Trax Farms, I long for home in that empty, hollow way like missing someone you love far away.
Overdramatic? Maybe. But if you have loved a place and left it, you know what I mean.
Fortunately for me (and for the city I’ll be leaving, if you ask it), this sad state of affairs is only temporary. I’ll be home soon, but until then I’ll still be finding ways to reconnect with Pittsburgh from afar, and I will share them with you here. Whether you’re missing it too, or glad to be safe at home, please enjoy.
