summer vacation

I’m home from Seattle long enough to be over my jet lag and acclimated to the heat and humidity that welcomed me back after nearly a week of moderate crisp weather, where I had to borrow a sweater for the coolness in the morning and evening, which was such a treat. The time went quickly as it tends to do on vacation.  It was so great to see B & family, to have down time to hang out and catch up.  A few days exploring and enjoying Seattle and the rest in Lake Forest Park (LFP) , the lovely adjacent town where C & T live, and where B is staying for now until he gets situated with a job and apartment.  I am so grateful for their hospitality and generosity. 

I was there to visit people more than a place, yet the place was spectacular. The Pacific Northwest in the summer is generally glorious.  The weather, the views, the air – it’s a great place to take a summer vacation, something I had been longing for and needed more than I realized. I didn’t take many photos or write much while I was gone. I spent the time relaxing as best I could in their beautiful yard and home. It was so good to be away, to be off of V-duty: no ball and chain of the clock: when V has to get up and when he returns home and when he gets medicine, there are so many times even in our relatively unstructured day when things need to happen. It’s not like I sit in an Adirondack chair without a concern in the world, which is what I got to do in LFP. While much was on my mind and going on in the world there really were moments where I was relaxed, and that is a great gift it’s easy to take for granted when “relax” isn’t in your vocabulary.

The last night C and T hosted my cousins for dinner, and it was like what I wish and imagine summer to be but alas it is not our experience, so it was wonderful to get a little taste of it, of sitting around with several generations of family, cousins I hadn’t seen in ages, eating good food in the great outdoors, enjoying others’ company, as well as their dogs.  A wonderful evening capped by making s’mores over a fire pit and enjoying the perfectly pleasant night air, and then B drove me to my very late red eye (1 am departure!) which actually went fine. I read a good book, dozed a bit, boarded and slept the entire way. And T picked me up and I was able to thank him in person, and tell him more about my trip than I managed over short phone calls and texts.  

Someday, assuming B stays out in the Seattle area, I’ll have even more time to stay out West. For now having close to a week was a real treat. An actual summer vacation spent with people I love.