seattlejo.com

February 2000 Rob and I packed 8 feet of a U-pack truck and attended our last Estrella War. We filled our geo metro with the rest of our stuff plus cats and caffeine. Thus began the drive to Seattle. It took 3 days, but we landed here around the 1st of March, found our new apartment in Mountlake Terrace and began to settle in to our new home.

There have been a lot of changes in those 10 years.I’ve gotten divorced, formed a partnership with my current significant others (8 years strong) , gotten engaged, become backup guardian to an amazing teenager, and future step mom to a vibrant elementary-aged girl. My life has had a revolving cast of characters of friends and chosen family. From classmates to coworkers, community members to sweethearts. Some are with me now, including those I look forward to walking the long path of life with me, others will move on though I’m glad for the impact they had on my life.

I’ve lived a little bit of everywhere in Seattle, from Wallingford to Broadview, Greenwood to Burien, and that initial stay in Mountlake Terrace. (Never lived on the other side of 520, somehow I don’t think its compatible to my non-driver lifestyle) I’ve traveled from Victoria to Eugene, from Orcas to Winthrop. I’ve taken ferrys, trains, and airplanes.I’ve traveled with friends and family, and gone on solo adventures too. (I there was still a ferry between Port Townsend and Seattle)

My personal identity has shifted, my professional roles have changed. I’ve become more independent, more responsible and in some ways more reliable. (Still a flake sometimes. I think I’ll always have a schedule from hell.)

Seattle is home. The Pacific NW is “my country”. Mt Ranier greets me at the sunrise, the Olympics frame my sunset. I walk the hills from Capitol hill to Downtown, I ride the ferries from Seattle to Bainbridge and Bremerton. I love our seafood, pan asian fast food and local beer. Mild winters and subdued summers.

Chicago is where I grew up. Arizona was a stop over on the way to adulthood. Seattle is where I have come into my own.