Scenes from Seattle

 

 

Havana and I spent the last days of 2023 and the first day of 2024 in the Pacific Northwest city of Seattle. Havana, who marches to her own drum and is more of an introvert, approached me and asked if the two of us could make a trip to Seattle. I was all in. I thought that time away from the routines of home, in a new location (for her), would give us much needed 1:1 time. Life is very busy these days. Havana is very much a teenager. She started high school, is making new friends. I have new business responsibilities, on-going care taking responsibilities and work both at Kaiser and in private practice. We needed time away from all our daily activities, away from the distractions and full days where we did not have much time to check in with each other.

Havana and I spent 5 nights/6 days, walking around and exploring Seattle. We stayed near the downtown area, which was a bit rough. We did have a nice room, with a great view but the homeless population, which was all around the neighborhood was a hard to witness. I have worked with the homeless/mentally ill/chemically dependent and had to take off the hat of wanting to fix or help. But we did have many meaningful discussions about what we saw. 

During our time in Seattle, each day and each evening, we'd set out and explore the sites. We hit up the tourist spots, which were more fun than I anticipated. The Ferris wheel, Space Needle and the Pier provided entertainment and some adventure. I played Pac-Man on a giant screen, while Havana looked on embarrassed and I made cheering sounds while I scored high!

We saw the gum wall (I put gum on, she was like, 'heck no') We eat yummy food at Pikes Market and had tasty treats from a bakery. We visited a cat cafe and had NYE dinner at a higher end Thai restaurants. We got along with the exception of one or two bumpy moments. Those moments tested me and as travel always does, give me some eye opening insights of things I can do better as a parent.

Perhaps the best part of our time was when our cousins Bobby and her son Robert came and picked us up for dinner outside the city. We were so thankful they made the effort (and it was an effort). We talked and shared stories and had a wonderful dinner together. All the site seeing was great but being with family and sharing stories, that was the icing on the cake.

I surprised Havana with first class on Alaska on the way home (Southwest on the way up; great flight but no frills!) She loved sitting in the first row. We went over the highlights of our trip. For me, spending time with Havana, seeing her strengths, how she is growing into an adult, taking in her humor and just being together; that was priceless.

We are very fortunate to have luxuries like travel. I remind both girls of this often. Seattle was a trip I will cherish; the city is lovely but the company even lovelier.