There is an active volcano in our backyard.
Mt. Rainier, a lady volcano by popular opinion, is right outside of our house. It’s a strangely beautiful thing to experience waking up everyday and seeing an active volcano right in our backyard. It hasn’t erupted in about 1,000 years but if it does, the sleepy suburban towns around the Seattle area will be severely destroyed. Let’s hope it stays calm while I’m here.
The residents of this part of Washington state, I’m sure, are just as unamazed and underwhelmed by this majestic beauty as I was of California’s perpetual sunshine and overhyped beach life. However, my husband and I have plans to visit the Mt. Rainier National Park sometime before our departure to be tourists and explore as part of our pact to enjoy every single place we end up in life as much as we can. This pact of ours is very important and at the forefront of both of our minds and hearts since everything in my life (and his since meeting me) has been so transient and short lived. We have to make the most of everything.
One thing about the Pacific Northwest that is taking some time to get used to is the weather. I don’t exactly hate it, but it is a new experience. My husbands job is destined to move him around quite frequently to new locations every few years and being a person who has moved way more often than the average person throughout her life, I was down for wherever this new adventure would take us. My mother advised me to be proactive about depression symptoms because this new place I am due to live for the next few years is known for it’s constant rain, doom, and gloom.
It has been less than a week of living here and though I have yet to experience any depression symptoms , I see what she meant. While I was mentally ready for the constant rain and cold, what I didn’t consider was how long night time would last here. Instead of waking up to sunshine at 6am in Texas and still having sun at 8pm, the sky here remains dark and doesn’t even begin to lighten up until close to 9am and even then, there is no sun. The sky just turns to a pale gray for a few hours before darkening again and it rains all day every single day.
I fully prepared my wardrobe for this new lifestyle months ahead of time and so far the best purchase I’ve made were my tall Hunter Boots. I got them on sale at Nordstrom this past spring for about $90 and they are worth every penny and maybe even more with the cost per wear I will get out of them during couple of years I will be living in this area.
These babies are sleek and stylish and allow me to look fancy and put together while still keeping me warm and comfortable in rain and puddles, mud and snow without slipping or having freezing toes. I feel prepared for everything in these rubber boots! Ive been wearing them every single day since moving to The Wetlands. Although fall is my favorite season for clothing and fashion, I’ve never had the privilege of being able to shop and wear fall/winter style clothes being a California native so this part of the journey is very exciting for me. I can wear all of my boots, long coats, leather gloves, hats scarves etc without peeling off the layers as soon as the morning chill wears off. Here in the pacific northwest, it is constant chill, constant rain and eventually snow so I hear.
While I’m prepared and ready to experience it all, I wonder if my attitude will change by the time it’s due for us to move elsewhere . Will I grow to hate this place? Or will a new fondness for this area grow for us? Will we be sad to leave or will we be effing ecstatic?
Only time will tell.
Wife & Wander. 