here, and gone again

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I dropped Weez off at the airport this morning at 7am. Yesterday afternoon, my friend Linda asked her "what's Liz going to do when you're gone?!" Now she is gone--and I miss her already.

The drive back home from the airport was beautiful. Early light showing vague highlights of mountains, edges smudged by clouds, framed by silhouettes of trees. I love Seattle--the mountains, the water, the richness of texture. We took Weez out to the Olympic peninsula on Friday, and even in the rain it was stunning. (You can see the trip through my eyes...and through hers.)

I love the new friends I've made here, as well. Last night we had some of those friends over, and as the conversation and laughter bubbled around me, I kept thinking about how blessed I am by the wonderful people in my life.

As Weez was preparing for her trip, our mutual friends in Rochester kept asking her the same thing--"Is Liz coming back?" She didn't know the answer. Neither do I. If it were a decision based solely on geography, Seattle would win in a heartbeat. There's something about seeing the mountains (almost) every day that satisfies a deep spiritual need in me. I can feel that I'm happier since I've been here. But...there are other practical and personal considerations. Housing costs here are more than 4x those in Rochester (and rising daily), so we'd be hard pressed to afford a home we liked within an hour of work. Gerald and the boys have a much stronger social infrastructure in Rochester than they do here. I'm currently shielded from corporate politics by my visiting position, but wouldn't be if I joined Microsoft as a full-timer. After nearly a decade in academia, I'm rather fond of my 3-month summer vacations. Unlike RIT, Microsoft doesn't offer free college tuition for my kids. And there is that tenure thing.

If I could convince Weez to move to Seattle, that might be the factor that simplifies the equation. Unlikely, of course. But I can daydream.

Life is complicated but good. And I'm grateful.

(Oh, and Weez...as promised, the list of blogs from people you met while you were here: Nancy, Maryam, Ponzi, Shelly, Korby. I thought there were more, but those are all I can think of right now.)

2 Comments

Liz and Weez, thanks for the great evening of conversation, friends and, of course, food, last night! Weez, it was great to meet you. You felt like "friend" right off the bat!

I visited a friend in Seattle once and like you I kinda fell in love with that place. I plan to moved my family there someday when things get better for us.

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This page contains a single entry published on January 8, 2006 9:07 AM.

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