Fall in the Pacific Northwest

Along with all the incredible, burning colors, the smells of hot cocco and fireplaces in use for the first time this season, Fall brings to Seattle visitors!  Here are a few pictures of my joyous Fall thus far!

Back in October, Kris and I drove down to Portland one day.  My aunt and uncle had flown out for the week to visit their daughter, my cousin Jamie.  I sadly didn’t get any pictures of us together.  Kris and I had a great time walking around downtown Portland.  We found an incredible bookstore that was 5 stories high and took up two city blocks.  So awesome.  It was great to see family out here.

Jamie had a break from Seminary and came up to spend it in Seattle.  I got to spend an evening with her and Will.  It was SO good to catch up with good friends!!  Jamie was our wedding photographer, and was in my mission class.   Always love spending time with her.  That makes two YAMs who have come to visit Seattle.  Only 12 more to go!

One day while I was at work, Kris got this great shot of the Olympic Mountains, overlooking the Ballard neighborhood.  The Fall in the Pacific Northwest can bring some incredibly beautiful, clear days!

 

A shot of downtown Seattle, with Mt. Rainier in the background.  Every time the mountains are out, it never ceases to catch me off guard.  I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful city!!

Kris and I took a walk around the Queen Anne neighborhood one unusually warm day.  The colors were so beautiful!

My unexpected joy this month was getting to see my beautiful cousin Mary Grace.  She and her husband Andrew had been up North visiting his brother, and were flying out of Seattle.  I got to have dinner with them and their incredibly precious 6 month old Owen.   Back at the hotel, I got to see his latest accomplishment – crawling!  I haven’t seen Mary Grace or Andrew since last Christmas, and this was a great surprise!!

 

In a couple of weeks, good friends from Kentucky, Nate and Stacy, are coming for a long weekend.  Then my mom and dad are coming out for Thanksgiving!  Fall has been a fun time so far, and I expect it to only get better!

This is me, catching up

Using Stephanie’s seven-thought format, here I go:

1. Christmas was wonderful.  I was able to take off nearly 2 weeks.  I flew into Atlanta, where Kris picked me up, and we drove down to Florida, with a brief stop for a wonderful dinner and visit with the Gates family.  Sitting around Brian and Stephanie’s table (that apparently exists no more) makes me miss living in the South.  Or at least living near old friends.  I miss being around people who just instantly make me feel at home.  And I miss my super cute godson.  I mean, look at this kid!  Who wouldn’t miss that face?

2. This was the first Christmas Kris and I have spent together.  We spent 5 days in Florida, celebrating with my family.  On Christmas Eve, we went to Marianna to spend the evening with the Burkes (mom’s side).  It was the first time in 5 years every single member of the Burke family was there!  What an amazing gift.  A lot has happened in five years: Kate and Derek have had two kids, MaryGrace has gotten married and is expecting her first child, Ellen moved to Africa, Bev and Austin moved to Albania, Alison got married, Philip started medschool, Robert started his own buisness, Ben got married, I got engaged.  Needless to say, there was much to be celebrated!  The two days after Christmas, most of the Hooks family got together.  Even though we weren’t all there, it was still a great time, complete with a visit from Grandpa’s brother, Uncle Kenny, and cousins Ken and Louise.   It was a special time for the Hooks side as well, as we were able to celebrate the engagement of Arthur and Liz mere hours after the special moment!

<——Burke cousins

<—– Just a few of the Hooks cousins celebrating Arthur and Liz’s engagement!

3. After Florida, Kris and I trekked it back up to Atlanta to spend a few days over New Year’s with his parents.   It was a relaxing time, spent watching lots of football and playing with the dogs.  I am so thankful that I am marrying into a family that I feel so comfortable with.  I enjoy spending time with Kris’ family, and know what a blessing it is to have in-laws that I not only get along with, but love very much.

4. Now I’m back in Seattle.  And Kris is here.  After 2 1/2 years apart, we are FINALLY in the same city!  There are days that I just can’t believe that the distance period of our relationship is finally over!  While I wouldn’t change the last 3 years, they haven’t been easy.  Yet, they have made us a stronger couple.  And I will never take for granted having my man in the same city!

5. Work is going really well.  Have I mentioned that I love my job?  Because I really really do.  And I am excited to be able to finally announce that I have been offered a position at Mary’s Place after my term as a Mission Intern is completed this summer!!  I will be the Family Services and Volunteer Coordinator!   It will be a nearly-fulltime position (32 hours) at a job that I already know and love.  Seriously, how blessed am I?

6. Random fact for the day.  In 2009 I read 31 books.  Some were amazing.  Some, not so much.  My favorite of the year?  The Help by Katheryn Stockett.   I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but particularly to anyone who has roots in the South.  It is hard to describe exactly how this book makes me feel except to say that I am glad I live in the time when I do.  Least favorite book of the year?  Love in the Time of Cholora. Seriously disappointed.

7.  My dear friend and mission classmate Abby came to visit last week.   I felt so bad because I had to work the entire time she was here, but Abby is a wondering soul who loves to explore, and Seattle is a great city for just wandering around.  Though, it is a much better city to wander when it isn’t raining – like it was every day that she was here.   I am thankful for the time she was here, and the time we had to share, laugh, eat and remember.  I love my mission classmates, and am always thankful for time I get to spend with any one of them.

<—- Miss Huggins and I on a ferry with a very grey Seattle in the background

That’s all for now.  Hopefully more updates to follow soon.

The difference in a year

December 10th.

Three years ago today, I was living in Kentucky.  I was a bartending seminarian.  We were all anxiously waiting for the miraculous arrival of Mr. Asher Paul.   I was in the beginning of a relationship that would eventually become THE relationship.  I was anticipating graduation, enjoying snow and had a house full of dogs.

Two years ago today I was in Indonesia.   It was a three week whirl-wind trip full of spicy food, bad air and incredible learning experiences.  I was able to attend a UN Conference on Climate Change.  I marched with indigenous peoples from all over Indonesia.  A few weeks earlier I had attended a traditional Indonesian wedding, and spent time with the families of migrant workers.

One year ago today I was in Hong Kong.  It was my final day in Hong Kong.  I cannot begin to express what all I gained from my time there.  I spent 15 months trying to blog about it, only to feel that I failed miserably at accurately conveying how meaningful and impressive every moment and individual was.

One year ago today I was in transition.  Leaving my apartment before dawn, (and subsequently breaking my toe!), and ending the day in Japan.

One day.  Over the span of three years.  From Kentucky, to Indonesia, to Hong Kong, to Japan, to Seattle.

Last night my dad called.  He asked what I was doing, and I said eating dinner.  “Anyone with you?” he asked.  “Of course not,” I replied.  “I lead a pretty boring life.”

I think I need to retract that statement.  My how time flies when you’re having fun; traveling the world; discovering what it means (and what it doesn’t mean) to be a missionary; watching friends get married and expand their families; falling in love; meeting new friends; saying goodbye to new and old friends; learning about migrant rights and issues surrounding homelessness…..

How time flies

I met Mari not too long after I had started working at Mary’s Place in February.  She came to services on Saturday, and dropped by occasionally during the week.   While not currently homeless, she had been in the past and is still extremely low income.  She’s a sweet lady, quiet, thoughtful.  She is proud of her Native-roots and kind to everyone she meets.  People who know Mari, love Mari.

Not long after I met her, Mari found out she was pregnant.  She had a spirit of quiet excitement.  “This is my last one.  I knew how many children I always wanted, and this little one will finish me off.”   Everyone was so excited for her.  Maryanne, another church-goer, made her a baby blanket.  Another lady brought a sweet little outfit and hoodie for the baby.  There were gifts of diapers, hats and love.  At the beginning of the summer, she informed us it was going to be a boy! Everyone had an opinion for naming the baby.  Mari would just smile, “We have his name picked out.”

Three weeks ago, Mari came into church for the first time in a month.  With her, little baby Sage.  He was bundled up in one of the blankets that just a few months before had been a gift.  Everyone ohhed and awwed at the sweet little baby.  A tiny miracle.  There is nothing like an itty bitty baby to reduce a room full of hardened, weary women into a cooing mess.

It is amazing to me that I have been here long enough to see a non-pregnant woman become a mother.  These last ten months have just flown by.  It is sad to think that there is only 6 months left in this program.  It has truly been a life-changing experience.  I have able to travel the world, work in grassroots organizations, learn about issues in migration and homelessness.  I am a different person than I was 2 1/2 years ago.  A better person, I think.  These last ten months, I have become wholly invested in the work of Mary’s Place and the Church of Mary Magdalene.  So much so that I am not leaving Seattle after my Mission Intern program is finished in the Spring.  I am hoping to stay on with Mary’s Place, but even if that is not possible, I want to stay in this community.  I feel at home here.  I feel a sense of peace in staying that I haven’t felt in a long time.  It feels good to be here, invested, learning, stretching.

A wedding update

Last weekend I flew out (yes, yet another trip) to Atlanta in search of a wedding dress.

Now before you find me guilty of dress-searching obsession or some other ridiculousness, let me explain.   I had originally wanted my mother to come out here to Seattle to come dress shopping with me.  But she managed to convince me (by helping to pay for my plane ticket) that Atlanta would be more fun because we could involve my sister, aunts and cousin.  And she was right.

I don’t feel like I have to say this again, but I will.  I am not a girly girl.  I’m not frilly, and I don’t typically get excited about shopping.  The one dress I own, I typically wear with pants underneath. (no joke – it’s super cute too, all hippie style!)  It also probably does not need to be restated that my sister and I have very different tastes in….well, pretty much everything.  The joke has always been that while she is “pinks and polka dots,” I’m “earth-tones.”

But for all of our stylistic differences, it was a wonderful weekend.  I adore my family.   We always have a good time together.  My aunts are hilarious and just feed off each other.  And it is always a comforting feeling to be at my Aunt Gayle’s house – it feels like home.  They were all good sports, letting me search for what I needed, listening to what I envisioned (which mostly included, “No bedazzled, no butt bows and no lace!”).  My sister only made me try on one frilly dress, though my mom pulled a couple frilled and beaded dresses.  After 3 stores and about 40 dresses, I found a dress!!  It is beautiful.  And it is true, what they say.  When you try it on, you just know. It’s very weird.  I had tried on many many dresses over the course of two days, and though I liked a few of them more than others, there wasn’t one dress I was attached overly attached to.  None of them made me cry.  I thought that I had maybe actually broken my curse.  But then, at the last shop, in the last dress, I walked out and stood in front of that mirror.  I could see reflections of my female family members behind me.  As I caught my own gaze in the mirror, tears sprung to my eyes.  Dammit.  Curse is still there.  But that’s okay, because I got a dress.

In other wedding news, things are falling into place.  We have a date (June 12th!); we have a location; we have a photographer; and now I have a dress!  There are still a lot more checks to make on my list, but it’s getting there!!

Because I am too incoherent to make a full post, bullet points:

• Next weekend I am flying out to Atlanta to go wedding dress shopping with my mom, my sister and my aunts.  While I am excited about going dress shopping with family, I am exhausted.  You all probably have a vague I idea of how much I’ve been traveling recently.  Pretty much flying somewhere (on the east coast) once a month.  And I love that I am able to do all this traveling, I really am.  But I’m tired.  But yes, dress shopping.  Very good.
• Tomorrow is our big fundraiser for Mary’s Place.  Our 5th Annual Hats and Tea Fashion Show and Silent Auction.  It is going to be a great event, and I am really excited.  But again, tired.  Down to my bones exhausted.  We spent all day setting up, coordinating table clothes, setting tables – you know, all the fun stuff.  I am ready for tomorrow.  It will be a lot of fun, I’m sure, but it will also be nice to be on the back end of this one.
• I drank a coke today.  It was a moment of desperation.   I had not had coffee all day, and there was no prospect of coffee in the near future.  I needed caffeine, otherwise I would be crashing hard with a blinding headache soon.  So I had a coke.  And it tasted like being 12 at my grandmother’s house; drinking coke-a-cola out of a real glass with ice.  Ahhhh.  Until tonight.  When my kidneys starting hurting.  Seriously.  This is why I gave up sodas 6 years ago.  No good.
• Speaking of coffee.  I had a major coffee catastrophe yesterday.   I have dubbed it the Great Coffee Mishap of 2009.  I was making coffee in the office, not an unusual occurrence, when I noticed that the coffee was not going into the pot, but rather, alllll over the shelf and the floor.  So, I turned the maker off and went to empty the filter.  (you should also know that I just wrote “folder” instead of “filter” – like I said, incoherant.)  At that point, the coffee/filter exploded.  All over the wall.  All over the fridge.  Even more all over the floor.  It took me 20 minutes to clean up.  As I started to make a new pot, I stopped myself.  “What the hell am I doing?  I live in Seattle!!”  So I went around the corner and got a lovely cup of coffee.  One of the perks of living in the land o’coffee.
• Have you seen the commercial for the classic, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”?   They have Charlie Brown rapping.  This leaves me slightly confused and sad.  Charlie Brown should not rap.

That’s all for tonight folks.  Goodnight.

On the road again…

Well, the road, the plane…you know.  I am a traveling fool these days.  But this should hopefully be my last trip for awhile.  And actually, this may be my last trip to Kentucky for a really long time.  We have high hopes (fingers crossed, Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise) that Kris will be moving out to Seattle by the end of the year.  That will put my traveling to a snail’s crawl!  Woot!

I am a little sad that this may be my last trip to Kentucky for the foreseeable future though.  Kentucky was home.  I had good friends there.  Really good friends.  I enjoyed my job, I loved my little house.  Kentucky was good to me.  And it will be sad to fully close the book on that chapter of my life.

One of the reasons I’m traveling to Kentucky this weekend (other than to see my fabulous fiance!) is so that Kris and I can hop on over to Asheville to check out our wedding site!  I am SO incredibly pumped!  We have an appointment on Monday with the venue.  I am nearly giddy with excitement.  Not to mention that I get to be in Asheville for two whole days!!  It has been nearly 4 years since I’ve been in North Carolina…and that is WAY too long!  It is just one of those cities that I absolutely adore.  So I’m really excited to show off all my favorite parts of the city to my favorite guy.

That’s all for now folks!  Traveling, wedding planning…..

Family

It was a quick turnaround trip. 12 hours on a plane. 12 hours in the car. For less than 48 hours in Virginia. But it was all worth it. Getting to be there. Meeting much of my soon-to-be new family. Holding Kris’ hand as we walked into the abby. Listening as the family told stories about their Mawmaw.

I heard about how Mawmaw didn’t want to miss out on anything. How she would wait up until everyone else had gone to bed, and would always be the first one up, cooking breakfast. They all remembered her best on the porch, waving goodbye until the car was out of sight, and how they would always honk and wave goodbye. The most common word used to describe her was “kind.” She was the embodiment of kindness, spreading it to all she knew. Every time her name was mentioned, it was mentioned with great love and admiration. I listened to Kris express how he is a better person because of the love that his grandmother taught him. That when he makes his delicious mac-n-cheese or carrots he is making her recipes. And I am thankful to be marrying a man who is proud to carry on the qualities of love and kindness from his grandmother.

They said goodbye. They prayed together. They released a dove. And laughed when the dove perched herself on the roof of the abby, watching over everyone. “That’s Mawmaw, waiting till everyone else leaves before she goes.” Kris’ dad honked the horn as we drove away from the cemetery and everyone waved.

I was humbled to get to be a part of these sacred moments. I was welcomed in as a part of the family, even though I had never had the privileged to meet Mawmaw. Over the two days together, we ate a lot and we laughed nearly as much as we ate. Being in back in the South for less than 48 hours, I’m pretty sure that I ate more fried food in those two days than I have in the last 8 months combined. But man it was so good. And made better by the family it was shared with.

There is something beautiful about the time that is shared together at funerals. There are sad moments to be sure. But this was a celebration of a woman who lived a full life. She was 93 when she passed, and surrounded by family. She is remembered well, and her legacy carries on in her children, her grandchildren, her great-granchildren, and in her great-great-grandchildren. There is something beautiful about the way that family will come from all corners of the country to celebrate and remember. There are few moments in life that have that kind of gathering power.

Let me tell you a story

Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl.  And they were friends for many years.  Then one day, suddenly they weren’t just friend anymore, but much much more.  As the years progressed, the boy and the girl watched as their relationship grew deeper and stronger.  There were hard times, months of separation, joyful reunions and much laughter.  There was a time that the boy and the girl lived across the world from each other, and it was a sad time.  But then the girl moved closer, so that they were only across the country from each other.  And while that time was hard, it was better.

One day, the boy decided to fly across the country to see the girl.  It was a happy day.  The girl even had a special present for the boy.

Girl: “Boy, I have a present for you, but you have to close your eyes.”  And in his lap she placed a book.  It was a small book, but one filled with love.  It was a book the girl had written when she lived on the other side of the world.  It was a book full of sweet notes, saying how much she missed the boy and wished he were there.  The boy loved the book.  It made both the girl and the boy emotional to read it together and remember that hard time apart.

Then the boy said: “Girl, I have a small gift for you to, but you have to close your eyes.”  So the girl closed her eyes.  And then the boy said, “Thank you for the book.  I really missed you during that time.  It means so much to me that you made that for me.  I want you to know that I am never as connected to a moment as I am when I’m with you.  And I don’t want to miss any more moments with you.   Open your eyes.”

And when the girl opened her eyes, this is what she saw:

And she said yes.  And the boy and the girl, they lived happily ever after.

Better late than never: A post about my time in Alabama

It has honestly not been that long since I have been out of the South.  I guess it really depends on if you count Kentucky as the South.  They don’t serve sweet tea in about half the restaurants, but have you heard their accents?  So, not counting Kentucky (which, despite the lack of sweet tea, I do count as the South), I’ve been out of the South for exactly two years.   And yet, even with such a short time away, it never ceases to take me off guard when I go back.  The accents are what get me the most.  They kind of make me giggle, sometimes they make me roll my eyes, but they always make me feel at home.

I pride myself on getting out of the Deep South without much of an accent.  It comes out on occasion, but it is certainly not the first thing people notice about me.  I do say very Southern quips like “y’all,” and “darlin’” A LOT, and I get teased for that.  And more often than I’d like, my “I”s come out a little longer than I meant.   (which always makes me think of Valerie making Alabama boys counting to niiiine.   But back in the Deep South, places like Alabama and North Florida, it isn’t so much the accent, as the long drawl that is so defined, so unavoidable.

I first heard it on my layover in Memphis.  To an outsider, I’m sure that all Southern drawls sound the same, but I can still classify Memphis from Montgomery; Louisville from Laurel; Decatur from Destin. There are subtle differences that remind me of the many areas around the South that I’ve lived in, or have family.

And the heat!  Whew!  Actually, not so much the heat as the humidity.  It is amazing how quickly I have become acclimated to Seattle summer.  I could use all the tired-old expressions about the Southern heat and humidity.  How it “literally sucks your breath away,” or how walking outside is like “walking into a brick wall of humidity.”  All true.  It doesn’t matter how you try to prepare yourself for that kind of heat, it always takes you off guard.

Yet, these things, odd as it may seem, feel like home.  Hard to decipher accents and overwhelming heat are what feel most like home.  I love Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.  I can see myself living here for a long time.  But I guess it is true what they say, “You can take the girl out of the South, but you can’t take the South outta the girl.”

Whether I end up back there or not, the South will always be home.  I may joke or even complain about it, but it is who I am.  It is not the whole of who I am, but it is a part of me.  Stephanie asked while I was there, “After all of your moving, where do you feel most at home?”  It is a hard question to answer.  I definitely feel at home in the South, but I think that has to do more with the feeling of familiarity, friends and family than anything else.  Because I also feel at home in Seattle, a city that I am growing to love more and more every day.  Parts of me also really miss Hong Kong.  I felt at home in the work that I was doing there, in the church community that I found.   I think that, for me, there will never be just one place that I feel most at home.  It just isn’t possible.  But how lucky am I to have such a variety of places in which I feel comfortable?

I use the same joke everytime that I stay with Brian and Stephanie, that no matter where I live, I feel most at home on their old worn out couch (which is no longer with them).  I have spent more nights on their couch, in 3 different cities and twice as many houses.  And it is true, the feeling of home for me can indeed come from familiar surroundings and thick accents, but more often than not, comes from the people I am around.

And so that is what my time in Alabama was.  A weekend where I really nearly melted from the heat, yet was energized by the people I was around.  It was a time of playing with my sweet godson, and walking with old friends.  It was 4 days in which I felt at home.  That is a hard feeling to leave.