Back Home! Just as I left it...but not really.

There are some very secure feelings that emerge when standing on American soil for the first time in 6 months- Knowing that wherever you may be...Seattle, Yakima, Kenmore....it's guaranteed that a Starbucks is no more than 5 minutes away (even with the recent closures). The abundance of free, clean, public restrooms where no one tries to give you paper towels, toilet paper or guilt-inducing stares. Being able to buy a bag of goldfish crackers at 3:00 am on a Sunday. A working cell phone with unlimited text messaging and free verizon-to-verizon calling!! AHHHHH, what a glorious place we live in!

For the most part, things in Seattle are just as I left it. A lot of trees, water, hills and people in northface fleeces. I never realized how fantastic this city is. Of all the places I went last semester, nothing compares to the clean, intelligent, active, natural vibe Seattle has. I may travel around after college and live abroad for a year or so, but I don't see myself permanently residing anywhere but the Pacific Northwest.

Though the city remains the same, some things have changed around these parts:

Francie and Bobby got married!!! The wedding reception was a ginormous American, Irish, Fitzpatrick, Padden, dance party- complete with appearances from the King himself (Matt Breysse as Elvis) and a good ol' sing-song to end the night. Having all of Bobby's friends and family over for the week was INSANE and sooo much fun. Rafting, Mariner's games, BBQ at our place, spontaneous house party at Anna's, going out on the Sea-Padden's boat....it was one fun activity after another.

The Sonics are no longer (I'm pretending to care....shhhh, don't tell)!!! :( :( :(

It's illegal to simultaneously drive and talk on a cell phone. Does this include texting too???

Pretty soon we're going to have to pay 20 cents for grocery bags! Max thinks this is a one-way ticket to socialism and that the government needs to mind it's own beeswax. I don't mind it...in Europe you have to pay for bags so I got really really good at carrying things in my arm pits, in the fold of my arms, and under my chin while making a mad dash to the car.

My Grandpa Kay is now living in Yakima. Char, William and I went to visit him. He seems decently happy in his new place, which is MUCH MUCH better than that dump Colonial Vista in Wenatchee. This is a house, with a yard, cats, and a lady who cooks home-made apple pie filling in a cute country-style kitchen. His memory is all over the place, sometimes he's in the present, but more often his brain is back in the '40s, '50s or '60s. Still cracking jokes though. "They're diggin' the hole for me" he told us and chuckled.

It's been really nice getting to see my friends again. The gang from high school is always ready to fill my in on all the gossip I missed out on. Willem and I went to camp (Gallagher) to visit for the day...wish I could have stayed longer (aka: the rest of the Summer).

I'm flying back to Spokane Wednesday morning. It'll be good to be back in the "lilac city". Eat a bagel, go to Safeway and Yokes, walk along centinneal trail. It seems like years since I fed the garbage-eating-goat scraps of trash from my purse!! I can hear the creepy carousel music now! I can taste the strawberry fro-yo from Diddier's!!

I miss Cyprus, but remembering all the crazy fun I had makes me feel better. I smile and laugh at pictures of my friends and I on the beach with tans the British tourists could only dream of. My friend Liz warned me that when I got back I would sometimes think "Did that even happen???" Facebooking my Cyprus friends and watching our Cyprus slideshow reminds me that it did happen and it was unbelievable, life-changing, eye-opening- FUN. I am ready to get back to Spokane, my routine. Move on. I wish that was the way it always was...where the memories of what was could be enough. It makes it much easier to go forward. When they're not enough, the only thing you can do is try to forget they ever happened. UGH, depressing!!!


LOVEEEEEEE,

Madge