Ready and waiting

DSCN7930_1, originally uploaded by lilylord.

Was up in Seattle for a too short a visit. For my 20 year HS graduation and to see - about to be a mom - Denise and her husband, as well as my mom. The days were long and gorgeous. Clouds floated and danced in the air above - It was one of those Washington Siren call weekends. As pretty as could be - perfect 70 degree weather, lush wonderful vistas abound. I was ready to move there instantly imagining living in each home I passed by. Then came my high school renuion. I had dragged Denise there as my date. We arrived early but went to the end of the street to hang out at the beach. I remembered having gone there so many times with family to play and in later teenage years to sulk, always a little bit distracted. Denise and I stayed later at the beach than the early arrival had given. It felt wrong to arrive on time even. Didn't want to appear as if those times 20 odd years ago had meant something. As if.

At that point I was pretty much fully formed. Geeky, weirdly confident/uncomfortably unconfident, and odd. At least in my memory. But walking into the room 30 minutes late those old defining roles evaporated. Everyone else seemed to have the same studied detachement. We were the generation that had became pickled with irony, Generation X. Post Watergate. Post rah rah. Post 20th century breakdown. Of course we were all there out of curiosity...only. And the fact that I was from the city of angels made someone comment "oh, but you've escaped". And I realized that I had, actually. Escaped to be creative and become myself. Escaped to a strange odd city that meandered without an obvious vantage point (We-Ho, Silverlake, Pasadena, Glendale - so very different and yet layers of these places repeat throughout the city). And not much brick. Not many buildings from more than two generations ago. No mountains, only hills. But lots of flavor. I had escaped.