In not quite 12 hours, I'll be back in Texas. Bittersweet and exciting all at the same time. Good times to be had ahead, memories of all kinds behind. Anticipation of the future and retrospective of the past.
We had a week of pure NW summer. Temperatures in the upper 70s, blue skies. The kind of summer Texas doesn't get to enjoy. But as I told friends earlier in the week, Texans call this time of the year "February." Mt. Rainier has loomed off in the distance, taunting me with a "Get out here and hike, dummy." The Olympics off to the West as a constant reminder that there are places most never see.
I watched my youngest go from just a baby to not quite a toddler anymore. The oldest is now a full fledged school aged kiddo. They learned their ABCs and how to use the potty instead of being swaddled in diapers. Trips to farmers markets on a Saturday morning (but not during football season!) and weekends in Seattle traipsing around downtown for good, solid fun.
The movers came Friday to get our stuff. And when the house was empty and quiet, there was a memory of the first time I saw it, empty then as it was now. My wife and I kind of stumbled upon it as we house hunted. She loved the quiet neighborhood with flowers galore. I liked how close it was to Puget Sound, bare miles away. We both agreed that it was a good place to raise a family.
It seems like just yesterday that I drove out of Alaska with my best friend but it's been over 3 years. My first night here was spent in a hotel not far from SEATAC once we'd arrived. I'm not far from there now as we get ready for an early morning flight. But back then, I wasn't just a dad. I was a husband too. Tonight, I'm as the girls snooze, I'm kind of alone.
I'll miss this place in spite of why I'm leaving. And I'll come back to visit. Heck, I'll be back in two weeks to wrap things up with the house among other items I need to finish out.
But we're coming home. Minus one.
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Moves are tough all around. No matter where you leave, you're alwaysleaving part of a life you built behind and the feelings that go along with that are complex and variable. Each place we live, I feel, adds another layer to who I am. In your case, this move must be exceptionally difficult. Hard to see through, or peel away, all of those layers and find a glimpse of who you are on the other side, after the move back to Texas and the passage of time.
Hang in there. Looking forward to hearing about life back in Texas.
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