the good stuff

good stuff #1: seattle is a tricky city.  when you visit in the summer, on a good weather day, it seems as though there is no other city that could rival it.  with all it's green and water and art and music and food, it is not hard to be convinced that it's the country's best kept secret and you should move there immediately.  the trouble is that those good weather days don't last, and if you fall for the trick, you'll spend the large majority of the year thinking that 'good weather day' was just a figment of your imagination.

long distance relationships are similarly tricky.  the befores and afters are miserable, but the durings can be quite amazing.  this during was no exception.  it began with a fantastic hug in an airport and ended with a fantastic hug at a train station.

the during was focused on just spending TIME with one another.  this time around i've made it a point to avoid focusing trips on activities.  while activities can be quite enjoyable, they can also be somewhat distracting. in a long distance relationship, you're at a disadvantage.  you have very little opportunity to learn about someone's 'normal' habits, routines, and perspectives if either of you treat the visit like a vacation.  vacation rules are different rules, and i want to know if he's going to drive me crazy in a grocery store or enjoy my music or be as happy sitting at home watching a movie as he is 'going out.'  as a result, this trip, much like the last, was...normal.

during no. 2 included movies. we watched percy jackson, and the haunting in connecticut, and the mummy, and iron man, and yes, he even took me to see eclipse (the best of the bunch, by the way).

it included books (at least for me it did).  between travel time and bryan's basketball practice.  i finished off the last fablehaven (thanks to nicole for sharing) and started jumping in to the girl with the dragon tattoo. i came home with one of bryan's books, and i may have even read the first chapter of his new acquisition; pride and prejudice and zombies.

it included meeting the parents.  yeah - that was a good one. we went to their ward and over to their house afterwards for some barbecuing and some movie watching.  i'm happy to report that i liked them and i'm pretty certain the feeling was mutual.

it included food.  i was able to meet up with my long-time friend leah for breakfast, and bryan and i, who are both fans of the food network show diners, drive-ins, and dives, were excited to check mike's chili off the list.  

and it included the one 'activity' i did want to check off; a ferry ride across the puget sound.  bryan chose bainbridge island as our destination because they have a bookstore he was sure i would love.  and i did. i also loved the shops and the art and the bakery.  by the time we had finished lunch, the sun was shining in a cloudless sky, and the return ferry ride was spent taking photos and enjoying the blue brilliance.

the trip was perfectly balanced. we had downtime, we had fun time, we had talking time and singing time and silent time, and most of all we had a GOOD time. then there was goodbye time. and that was kind of rough.  

but not as rough as the 'after' i'm in now. did i mention the after is kind of awful? it's probably enhanced by the fact that it's been a difficult couple of days for other reasons, but wow, long distance is no-good-very BAD! i don't know if it's worse this time around or if it just feels worse, but wow.  combine that with my memory of good-weather seattle, and my general lack of enthusiasm for my job, and the idea of packing up and leaving is very tempting.

i'm far too practical for that, of course, but the idea is...definitely...tempting.

good stuff #2: the only thing that made saying goodbye somewhat tolerable was the fact that i was heading to portland to meet my (brand) new niece.  when the trip was planned none of us knew when the baby would arrive, other than that she would probably be late.  

she was indeed late, and by the time i arrived, she was a whopping 8 days old.  newborns grow so fast that you forget how small they are until you have one in your arms.  

and while i know there are many who prefer babies when they've gained 'a personality', i love love love newborns.  i especially love newborns who 'belong' to me. her name is adele jane, and she is my second niece.  since kendyl just turned 6, it's obviously been a long-time since we've had this kind of occasion to celebrate. and the short time i spent with dylan, kelly, and adele was precious.  as you might imagine, it was very low-key, with the big adventure being the walk to the neighborhood market on the corner. 

i guess some might be amused to learn that i met up with my ex, spencer, for breakfast while i was there. he even treated.  it was a good breakfast with good company and i enjoyed the opportunity to do some catching up.  

but mostly i enjoyed holding adele. and of course, the time flew far too quickly.  i'm ready for another vacation and the pacific northwest is calling!