trampoline, dried candy, croquet

I’ve lived in Nebraska for a few years now, but my home is still Washington. I spent my entire adolescence there, and even still, I miss so much about it. Such as:

• My brothers

• Mild weather

• The words “freeway,” and “dinner” (I still cringe when I hear “supper”)

• Good (and fresh) seafood

• The Meeker Mansion and the fact I thought we were important for owning his rocking chair

• The Sumner Arts festival and its all-you-could-eat free watermelon on Friday night

• The Narrows bridge

• Ruston Way

• Using Mt. Rainier to gauge the weather (if I could see it through the clouds, it was going to be a nice day)

• Jumping on the trampoline

• Seeing mom’s mugs full of dried up candy on the kitchen counters

• The Old Spaghetti factory

• An airport that offered direct flights to somewhere other than Denver

• The stores to shop in (oh, the stores! I long for a Nordstrom’s)

• Proximity to the ocean (even though every time I’ve gone I’ve been nearly eaten alive by sand fleas)

• Casinos that aren’t on a river

• Playing croquet with my dad

• Running to the convenience store with Joel for scratch tickets and candy

• The Puyallup fair

• Being dragged to the major life events of people I don’t necessarily like, but have known forever

• Not needing to pick out a doctor, dentist or mechanic – I’ll just use whoever my parents use

• Those cups with vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet and the wooden spoons

• Smartfood white cheddar popcorn

• I even miss that stupid maroon afghan mom kept over the couch to shield it from the sun.

And I never thought I’d say that. At heart, I will always be a Pacific Northwesterner.