humble beginnings

I found this picture and had to smile. It was taken on my first visit to Seattle. I was about 12 years old and was on a camping trip. We took the Bainbridge ferry and I can imagine my mother's instruction to go stand by the railing so she could snap a picture. This must have been the only dry moment we had in Seattle. It rained on our camping gear and we ended up in a hotel a night or two while our tent dried out.

I remember very little from Seattle. I have a vivid memory of sitting in a laundromat, watching my sleeping bag and stuffed whale going round and round in the dryer. I remember that the King Tut exhibit was going on, but we couldn't go because it was booked well ahead of time. I remember going up the Space Needle, but that was not a treat for me. I was terrified of glass elevators and not a big fan of heights at that age, so I stayed with my back to the wall furthest from the edge. I don't remember thinking that I would like to live here some day. It is funny to think that I was just a couple of miles from a ten-year-old Emily. We must have driven through Ballard on our way to the locks. I probably walked past the site where they would build the buildings where I would work.

Well, I didn't walk much of anywhere, actually. I hobbled. I sprained my ankle rather badly minutes before we left on the trip and I spent the whole two weeks hopping and hobbling about, using the stick I found in the redwoods to support me. That part I do remember.

So, that was my first time in Seattle. Apparently first impressions aren't the end of the world for me. Injury, rain, phobia trauma. I've been here ten years now and I still love it to pieces. I looked out and saw the golden autumn leaves this morning and knew there is nowhere I would rather live.