happy anniversary to me.

This past weekend, I celebrated 17 years in Seattle. 17 years! The anniversary of my move always reminds me of that time in my life- it was the first time I had ever taken a plane ride. I had just $1,300 to move across the country, with a boy I thought I loved, with few possessions, to a place I had only seen in movies. At 37, I'm not so sure that I would be so cavalier again, but maybe having that hopefulness that comes with youth served me well. As hard as it is sometimes to be away from my family, and not to be able to see my gorgeous kiddos grow up, moving was the best thing I ever did. The boy is long gone, but I will forever be grateful for his invitation to join him on this journey. It's hard to think I could have never met any of the wonderfully dear people that I keep closest to my heart, had I never moved. I do believe the universe has you exactly where you need to be- even when it feels as though things should be so different, there's a reason why you're still where you are- there's still a lesson to learn, or a message you just can't see yet and you're not going anywhere until it clicks.

On my anniversary weekend, I had a few days off of work for a little staycation. There was lots of gardening to be done, and more canning of the summer season. I did an amazing hike on Friday to Mt. Pilchuck- just a little over an hour away. The weather was perfect, and the hike was both challenging and filled with gorgeous views of the Cascades that we don't normally get to see on other hikes. The summit was a lookout- a somewhat scary little rock scramble up to a ladder to gain entry to the lookout revealed a full 360 degree view. You could even see the Puget Sound, Whidbey & Camano Islands. It was stunning (and the ladder was super secure, I checked before scaling up it!).