After a 8ish month hiatus, I am returning back to the city that I consider home; Seattle. I didn’t really think of Seattle as my home until I left. I originally moved there about 10 years ago with two gentlemen whom I still consider some of my best friends. We came in pursuit of education and adventure… we found it in the diversity of culture and freedom of expression allowed by our new habitat. Coming from a small town where I couldn’t go to a grocery store without having to make polite conversation with at least 5 different people, the anonymity of a big city was a welcomed shadow. I went to college in Seattle. I rented my first real apartment in Seattle. I fell in love in Seattle. In a lot of ways, it is where I’ve defined myself as an adult.

I left Seattle because of a particularly life altering (bad, horrible, awful, dreadful…insert adjective describing the worst feeling ever) break-up. I needed a change of scenery to distract myself from the pieces of what had fallen apart. So I took a leave of absence from my city. It was a very smart decision and I am glad to have had such a perfect opportunity to find some serenity, but I always knew it was only temporary.

I’ve been back in Seattle for almost a month, but I’m just now starting to feel the beat of city life slide back into my regular rhythm. I like it. I missed it. Although it feels a lot more lonely than it used to, I am so glad to be back.  I cannot wait to see the city with new eyes, find the new avenues of vibrant life among the well worn paths of my history. It’s an inviting journey, and it’s an exciting journey, but mostly it just feels good to be home.