Mountains

People here have a funny saying, "The mountains are out". On a gorgeous day, I told my son in NC that, his response was "Mom the mountains are always out, they are mountains." My answer, not in Seattle...

The mountains here are definitely one of the most spectacular views you can imagine. Yet I think a lot of Seattlites take them for granted. Every day (well, when they are "out") they can look upon them and wonder. What an incredible gift. Please don't ever let me get tired of them and lose my sense of awe and wonder.

Homesickness

It is beautiful here. The Olympics rise over the western Puget Sound, the Cascades on the eastside, Mt. Rainier is overwhelming to the south and on a clear day, you can see Mt. Baker to the north. Rainier and Baker are active volcanos so that gives a little excitement to life in the Pacific Northwest. I saw my first Tsunami evacution route sign. It didn't really bother me after living in the south with hurricane evaculation route signs everywhere. Wherever you go there is some kind of natural disaster to worry about.

So why I am so homesick? I miss the heat and the humidity. I miss the flatness. Here when I go running, I am running uphill BOTH WAYS. How is that possible? The hills will freaking kill you. I miss the slow pace of the south, the lazy summer afternoons, the sounds and estuaries, the incredible sunsets. I miss my kids terribly. I can't believe what I have done in leaving them behind. It feels like my heart is ripping out of my chest.