Here's to a Better Year in Everyday Ramblings

A not quite iconic view of the Seattle waterfront from a ferry on Puget Sound Thursday afternoon. I have had pointed out to me that Bainbridge Island is actually bigger in land mass than Manhattan. Having Miss E. here and her partner, who are now dedicated New Yorkers outlines the contrast. It is island life that predominates here and almost exclusively rural(ish). More chickens than people, that kind of thing.

My niece lives a bit over a mile from the ferry terminal in a transitional neighborhood that has housing plunked down in almost random ways in loops and cul-de-sacs. Close in to the terminal is the only place with sidewalks. She is now an established and functionally important records management admin at Starbucks headquarters, and they pay for the ferry, which is $10 round trip each day for walk-ons. Cars are $40. She has a lot of space and a working fireplace that she could currently not afford living in town.

To say that Miss E. and Mr. B her partner are foodies is kind of an understatement. After they met me at the train station we walked up to this amazing Asian market and food court at the lower edge of Japan Town. It is huge and other to that movie premier I went to late last summer a place with more people than I have been (except train stations and the new citizens thing) since the pandemic started. If you are a sauce person…this place is heaven.

We were getting sushi supplies. We had a little trouble finding the pickled ginger and after asking two employees we found it and were walking away and a random older white woman shopper in a mask stopped us and told us to get this other kind that looked like maybe it was a store brand and very fresh. She was right.

Miss E. is very chic. Not that I would expect otherwise. She lives in a world with much international focus working for the Italian department at NYU and Mr. B. who is currently working as a data specialist at a start-up but is a language specialist with equally important extensive experience working in kitchens. He has a graduate level grant to go to Senegal for three months and if Miss E. can get a few extra days leave is planning on going to Turkey with her mother in the spring.

I have not spent any time with Miss E. in 6 years. We came up for her graduation 5 years ago, but we didn’t actually see her other than when she was running down the aisle and on stage. That is the last time I saw my niece as well. But only for a few hours.

I lived with these people from the time I was 14 to 17 and was closely associated and living near them until about 7 years ago when my sister died. It has taken my niece that long to process all that being a single mother of a precocious daughter working an odd assortment of jobs even though she graduated from Smith and has a master’s in Library Science, means. She was very close to her mother.

As an introvert, I was telling my students a while back that I have discovered this odd thing about relaxing. I do it best in the company that I trust and am deeply connected to. I do relax on my own but there is still a pilot light of watchfulness always on. That is why spending time with Kes and Most Honorable is important to me. There is this sense when I am with intimates that if anything problematic arises, we can figure it out together. If I am on my own, it is all on me.

Although I was tired, (there were unexpected delays getting up here Thursday), I checked my metrics as I am wont to do, from my Fitbit and my heart rate variability was way up. This is a good sign. There is this whole woo wo idea of heart mapping and how we connect at a physiological level with those we are close to.

There are innumerable little touches all over the place from our shared past. Things I haven’t seen or thought about in many years. There is also a hallway full of framed photos that my niece has been working on for about a year. Almost exclusively our side of the family. A few pictures of me that took me by surprise. I don’t remember them being taken exactly but I do remember the clothes in each of them. How funny is that…oh yeah that shirt…

My sister’s ex and my niece’s father who is now 81 and pretty disabled came out with his younger brother and spent the day on Wednesday. I have a strained relationship with him, but he is a dedicated grandfather to Miss E. I did see him at the graduation as well. It sounds like they all had an odd but good family day. Dumplings were made by hand.

I’ll be heading for the train station soon. It will be a full day of travel. My cat sitter ended up not being able to get out to visit her family for Christmas after all, she was caught up in the whole SW Airlines mess. The cats were well looked after by Kes and her.

The very best wishes for a wonderful new year to you all. Let’s make this one better, okay?

Cheers.

Last updated December 31, 2022