Falling out of love with Texas

Maybe it’s just the Abilify withdrawal talking still (though I don’t think it is) but I’m still pretty traumatized by last week’s winter storms. I know it probably seems like I shouldn’t be, since we didn’t even lose power.

But the facts that traumatize me are that it very well could happen to me next time (and there will be a next time) and the fact that so many people suffered from real trauma due to the people they elected.

Texas’ leadership is completely responsible for their abominably poor way of handling last week’s storms. We absolutely should not have our own separate power grid, especially because we cut corners in maintaining it appropriately. And because our leaders don’t recognize climate change as a real thing, it’s certain that this is going to happen again.

I don’t know where else I want to go just yet (certainly not back to Michigan) and I don’t see any point to moving while my husband’s still alive because this area is really phenomenal for opportunities in his line of work.

But it just seems like the storms and the state’s response to them (as well as their role in creating the damage through lack of planning) has really done a lot to diminish my love of being here. I still love the mild winters (with the exception of this storm) and I don’t even mind the hot summers. I love the fact that there are so many people here.

What I don’t love, however, is how this state shows such a callous and utter disregard for its citizens, especially those who are poor. I think it’s going to take a long time for me to get over that, if I can at all.

A lot can change in the coming years, even if I lose my husband. Maybe the kids will all choose to stay here, in which case, I’m less likely to leave. But I don’t think I’ll ever feel completely safe here again, after seeing how little of a safety net there is here and how readily the state will sell out its citizens’ safety and well-being for a dollar.