Last week I repeated last year’s solo pilgrimage to Seattle, this time on somewhat different terms. Where last year I was overwhelmed with the emotion of returning home, this year I felt gratitude for the past without the longing. Where last year I crammed it all in, this year I hung out in the slow lane, allowing myself to soak up energies lingering from ten years of life experience.
The hours I spent riding the bus took me past the sites of many of our Seattle experiences, big and small. There was the house I lived in on the outskirts of Capitol Hill, the LDS Institute building where Chad and I met, the roadside stand where we bought berries every summer. Also the library where we attended Gavin’s toddler story time, the beautiful chapel where we went to church as a family, and Green Lake and the Burke Gilman trail – sites of favorite walks and talks.
Walking through a beautiful West Seattle neighborhood the first afternoon I spotted the city's new food and yard waste receptacles. 
Waste management may sound boring elsewhere, but it’s not in Seattle. Everyone raved about the new mandatory composting that now accepts meat and dairy and how even plastic lids (greater than 3” diameter) can be recycled. As a result, more and more people are using the “micro” cans for trash. I was enamored enough with the new system to follow a garbage truck around one morning in hopes of a good photo. 
This trip, leisurely time with families of good friends won out more often than not over intimate dinners at favorite restaurants. The barely two-year-old son of one friend surprised me with “quinse, dieciseis, diecisiete”, 
while the three-year-old daughter of another who hadn’t seen me for nearly a year cuddled right up in my lap. It was gratifying to be with people who nudged Chad’s and my early relationship along, sat next to us through our wedding, helped us through the births of our children, camped with us for six straight summers, and taught me so many of 
life’s lessons just by being themselves.To everyone I missed – I would have loved to see you!
2 comments:
It's always lovely to have some time away to recharge yourself!
What a fun trip- I have not been able to bring myself to go back since we left- isn't that crazy! It's like I don't want to go back until I know we're staying. You've inspired me though- I think we need to make a pilgrimage and see all those wonderful friends. Or maybe I need to make a pilgrimage. That is a loooong flight with kids!
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