Sugar, Spice, and Most Things Nice: I've heard it said...

So there I was. Driving in my rental car up I-5 through the traditionally icky Seattle traffic. This is made worse by the fact that I not only forgot that no one is in a hurry to get anywhere there AND I have been living in NYC where EVERYONE is in an urgent frantic hurry to get wherever they are going (usually nowhere). So I tried my best to relax and not be in a hurry and recover my buried west-coast laid-back attitude. It wasn't going well. I was so excited to see all my friends that I could barely contain myself. Traffic wasn't actually that bad, but it wasn't moving fast enough for me --I had places to be and people to see that I hadn't seen in WAY too long!! It was amazing to me as I was driving up the road and I came around the corner of a hill and the Seattle Skyline came into view on the right with Elliott Bay and all the long shore ports on the left that I was home. I felt like I was literally driving home after a long vacation and I was relieved and excited and at peace in a way that I can't describe to be back. I have been fortunate enough to make many friends everywhere I've been and I still keep in touch with most of them. Some are closer than others. To me the true test of the type of friendship is what happens when you're miles apart. With my closest friends we might as well have never been apart. We can pick up right where we left off without missing a beat or a moment of awkward pause --whether it's been a day week months or years since we were last together. I was not surprised to find that this is how many of my Seattle friends were. It was so wonderful to see everyone again and to have it seem like nothing changed! To chat and play like"the good old days" of two months ago when this was my every day life. It made me so very grateful for the friends that I have been blessed with-- In Seattle and everywhere. I just wanted to take a minute to attempt to express my gratitude for you. It can't be done, really, but know that I love you all and think of you all often, and I am more grateful for you than you could ever know. As per my latest vacation "home" --a couple examples. Siobhan is still the other half of my brain. We are still essentially the same person with a few (but vitally important according to some) differences. It felt like life was finally back to normal having her in the car with me and shopping for brownie mixes and ice cream at 3:00 in the morning. It felt so normal that I literally was confused when she was directing me back to her apartment so that I could drop her off before I went back to the airport. I forgot that she wasn't coming with me, and (surprise ;) ) I cried just a bit. Dinners with friends literally had conversations that picked up right where we left off without missing a beat. I spent 4-5 utterly delightful hours at a football game with Josh where we talked and joked and laughed and played like the good old days. And I will be eternally grateful (and a little bit pissed of) to him for introducing me to polish sausage with cream cheese. Don't knock it till you've tried it. You'll be hooked too! The only problem is you can't get them outside of Seattle! I also stopped by work and was immediately welcomed by warm hugs from Amber and Dr. Milne and Tooley and Jeremiah --I miss them all more than they could know --both in and outside of work! I celebrated Jaryd's 21st birthday with him Joe and Siobhan, and it was like the old days of drunk babysitting --not much changed there either. Joe still puked in the corner --twice --although to his credit despite yelling angrily at people across the bar, no punches were thrown. Jaryd was still a slightly angry and sad drunk, although after he passed out on the make-shift bed in the middle of Siobhan's floor, he was very sweet to make sure that Siobhan and I kept warm during the night. He kept covering us with blankets while we were sleeping, then we'd get too hot and kick them off. A little bit later Jaryd would wake up freezing, notice that we too were blanket-less, assume we must be cold as well, and cover us up again. It was a fun cycle :) Good times! So here's to all my "people" --in Seattle and elsewhere --clink! :)