Holy cow! We've been here a year! Well, wait. I've been here a year. In about a week, Lorelei will have been here a year. About a week after that, Shawn will have been here a year. And then a week after that, our furniture will have been here a year. Heh. Moving across the country is no small endeavor.
But WOW. What a year. I would not trade any part of it for anything. We have lived and laughed and cried and discovered parts of ourselves that we didn't know existed.
Before we get too involved in the introspection, let's talk about the last month. Up until the end of August, the only people who had come to visit were Shawn's mom Brenda, my brother Steve on his layovers with UPS, and Leigh Ann. And then came the late summer and the boon of visitors! Finally!
Jim came in early September for about a week and a half. I think he got a pretty good experience of Seattle.
Those pictures above are at the Locks. The Locks are the shipping canal between Lake Washington and the Sound. It's an amazing place. It was a glorious day. We finished it at Elysian Fields Brewery in Capitol Hill. It was lovely.
The weekend after Jim left, Mary and Bernie and Niki and Raj and the kids made it into town. We went to the King Tut exhibit which was mind-blowing. Truth to be told, though, I think Lorelei loved playing at the Seattle Center Fountain with Niki & Raj's kid more.... She loved the exhibit, but playing with Ciaran and Navine (I'm sure I screwed up the spelling there) was irresistible for her.
And they are lovely boys. Their sister, Sitara, will be right behind them, too in no small amount of time. What a lovely family they are.
It was wonderful to see Mary and Bernie here. I've been wanting my family to see where we live this whole time because I think every one of them would just love it, but especially Mary. The food, the colors, the smells and the backdrop are so...Mary. I just knew she'd love it. Also, for everything Mary and Bernie have told me of Ireland, I thought maybe they might see some similarities. It's on us, now, to go see them in Ireland and make the comparison. I think that's a great idea. Yes. Let's do it.
Some have already seen this picture, but I took it on my drive in to work on my one-year anniversary of being in Seattle (yesterday). It was a lovely day and perfect. I love the mists coming in from the west off the ocean, Olympics and finally over the Sound, and I love watching it burn off over downtown, and the water turn from gray-black to crazy crayola blue. This place is nothing short of amazing.
The best part of this place, however, is how much we feel ourselves here. I mean Shawn, Lorelei and I feel ourselves here. We left everything that was our comfort zone behind us and hit the road, not sure what we were going to find in terms of making a home but knowing we had each other. In the beginning, it was such a culture shock for us that we were just trying to get through day-to-day. You know, find the best grocery store, figure out a pediatrician, dentist, etc., figure out the school thing with Lorelei, job for Shawn, sort out my job and hope it works out, and holy God, sort out the cats and the dog. By February, we were all pretty damn sick of each other and had felt like crap because we missed the holidays with the family and you know, it's damn dark in Seattle in the winter. But about that time, Steve started having layovers here, and then Brenda came in January, and Leigh visited in March, and we survived.
Now, we feel differently. Summer gave us these amazing explorations, fabulous weather, and more visitors. And we've found our place. We have also been preparing for the dark days of winter with loads of board games and recipes.... A word to anyone who thinks they may want to visit in the winter: Lorelei is cut-throat at board games. She will lose just to screw you over. I love that kid.
I would not trade this for anything. I have grown as a person in my marriage, motherhood, my life and my career by moving. I can't say enough what an amazing experience it's been to live somewhere else. Most of my friends and family have done this at one time or another, but I never had. Until now. What a great test of wills and love this has been. I wish this on all of you. Never be afraid to go if you feel it. It's good. And you know what? It never has to be your last move.
I just re-read this post and I'm pretty sure that every post is my favorite :)
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