Washington 2016 - Candice's Reflections

When Australians ask me where I'm from in the U.S.A., my answer is usually "Seattle".

It's kind of a lie.

Technically I've lived the most years of my life in South Brunswick, New Jersey (12 years) with Grand Rapids, Michigan as a runner up (9 years). I do consider both places where I "grew up", and yet I don't feel like I can honestly say that I hail from either, for various reasons.

I suppose Seattle feels more like home because it's where Ben and I met, and essentially grew up as partners. The state of Washington has always been a central part of our relationship, which began soon after I moved to Seattle in 2009. I dated him and explored the Pacific Northwest simultaneously - from the island he grew up on (Whidbey Island), to the various local neighbourhoods we lived in (Queen Anne, Ballard, Ravenna, Edmonds), to the nearby towns where we planned hikes, road trips and getaways. We ended our first date at the top of the Space Needle, where I had just gotten a job (serving Starbucks coffee - how cliche...)! Even Ben's proposal was pretty iconic - in a boat in the middle of Lake Union, to the backdrop of the city skyline on a beautiful August afternoon.

So, last month I finally got to return "home" to Seattle, for the first time since we moved to Melbourne in 2013. Even though I'm very happy with our current Australian city, I felt very re-energised and excited to be back in the Emerald City. I've always felt a pull towards Seattle - even before living there, and even after leaving.

the Seattle skyline still gives me chills.

Nine days was not enough time for everything we wanted to do and everyone we wanted to see. We have a lot of loved ones in the area, time was spread too thinly, and we had to schedule many of our plans at the last minute. But despite being busy and a little stressed about logistics (and Seattle traffic! oh how we don't miss that...), the visit was just what we needed - a chance to introduce Arden to the rest of Ben's family, and an opportunity to revisit our "roots" as our own little family.

After all, Seattle was the beginning of us, and therefore the beginning of her.

I loved seeing Arden interact with her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins - especially her youngest cousin, 18-month old Hudson, whom I got to meet for the first time too! And it was really special for Arden to meet both her paternal great-grandmothers as well.

As Ben mentioned in his reflective post, Arden took a while to warm up to all the people she met, and usually cried if someone new tried to hold her. 8-9 months is kind of a tradeoff for meeting new people. For many babies, this is the beginning of the "separation anxiety" phase, but it's also the beginning of a new interactive/playful phase, once the anxiety fades away. Fortunately, most of Ben's family got to experience a few smiles and giggles.

Arden was actually quite the trooper during our entire trip, experiencing many new things all at once - like riding in a car seat, hanging out with a dog (Ben's dad's chihuahua Romeo, who was really great with Arden), and sleeping in a new location every few days. Fortunately she had gone through the worst of the adjustment process in Hawaii, so by the time we got to Washington she was no longer having epic meltdowns before bedtime - thank goodness!

Romeo is probably the first dog Arden has ever seen up-close. maybe someday we'll get a puppy..! maybe. someday.

We tried to see as many of our local friends as possible throughout our visit, including a few who also had babies around the same time we did. It was so much fun to see the next generation interacting with each other -  swatting at their new friends' faces and batting toys out of each others' hands, as babies do. July is a really busy month for everyone, and we were only in town for one weekend - so we were glad to be able to catch up with as many people as we did. My cousins even drove down from Vancouver, B.C. just to meet up for coffee in Edmonds!

It was a short and busy trip, but well worth the long journey. It felt surreal, bringing Arden to Seattle - a city that means so much to us - and seeing her in familiar neighbourhoods and houses. It sounds silly, but before this trip it was hard to think of Arden as part of our families. She's a Melbourne baby, and we're only used to seeing her in the context of our Australian life. But now that everyone has met her, it's almost as if her birth feels complete, at least to me. We have a daughter, and she is connected to our families in Washington and Michigan, linking everyone together by blood.

Arden loves her aunties!

It was hard to leave, knowing that the next time everyone sees Arden, she will be very very different - most likely walking, talking... and hopefully not bursting into tears every time someone laughs!

A huge thank-you to our families and friends who hosted us, squeezed us into busy schedules, and travelled long distances just to meet our baby girl. We miss and love everyone, and hope to visit again soon!

 CK

p.s. Here's a short video I made for our Washington trip. I also wrote/recorded the music - enjoy!
 
Washington - July 2016 from Candice Kortlever on Vimeo.