Interrupted

My Life Thus Far
2016-12-07 07:32:34 (UTC)

The Memories That Endure

I'm doing something I haven't done in a long while. I'm sitting in my sitting room, in front of a warm fire, drinking tea, listening to music. I sequester myself in my bedroom 90% of the time I'm home and I honestly don't know why I do it. My mother used to do it, and it always bothered me. I wanted more time with her, even if I knew deep down I didn't really. Her mental illness made it very hard to know which mom I'd be getting. Anyway, I don't want my kids to feel like I'm never around, even when I am. So, when I got home today we lit a fire and played games in the sitting room. And I loved every minute of it.

My day was spent the way I like spending them most: hiking. Outside in nature. I'm actually really proud of myself for getting outside even though it's cold and putting my Discover Pass to go use (Washington's state park admission pass). Best $30/year I could ever spend. Today's adventures took me to Port Townsend. Still one of my most favorite parts of the state. Both because of the scenery and the memories I've made there. I conceived there in a most serendipitous way. I lost the child, but I still feel very connected to the place and the memories that endure.

Snookums and I take the kids to Old Fort Townsend State Park during the summer because it's got some of the most active tidal pools I've ever seen. Kiki and Keenan love interacting with nature and pissing off geoducks, so they spit on them. It's great fun! Right as you're heading into the park there's a small parking area and an obscure trail heading into a dark wood. I've longed to see what's in there, but Snookums never wants to. Probably assuming it's a long arduous trail. Well, it isn't. I did it today. It's actually kind of disappointing as far as scenery goes. There's a few old growth conifers, but for the most part it's a deciduous forest filled with dormant Scotch Broom and the leaf litter from the sleeping trees. However, that makes for excellent fungal habitat! I got some great mushroom pictures. In the spring and summer I take pictures of bees and flowers, in the cold months evergreens and mushrooms. And I got some good 'shrooms there. All told the trail was only about 2 miles long (roundtrip) and ended unceremoniously on a residential street in the middle of nowhere. Lame. Plus side though, I had plenty of time to drive to Fort Worden to catch the sunset! And man, am I glad I did.

Fort Worden is my siren song. My muse. The first time I set foot in that park I felt irreparably connected to this place I'd only seen on tv (An Officer and a Gentleman was filmed there. Which I've seen a dozen times since childhood). I go there when I need solace. Today, I went solely for the sunset, because it really doesn't compare to any other place I've captured sunsets. And today was no exception. I got some great shots. So great, an outdoor lifestyle page on Instagram asked if they could feature my work. Does this mean I'm a photographer now? Maybe Snookums will get me a real camera?! I'll never be willing to drop that kind of money on myself.

By the time I was done photographing the sunset, my fingers were so cold they hurt. It was 28 degrees and insanely blustery. I have no idea what the wind chill factor was, but it was COLD. Some of my shots I had to stand in the surf to get (worth it). I was freezing, so I stopped in town to enjoy my favorite shops (Phoenix Rising and Abracadabra), then I headed to Better Living Through Coffee because I knew they served food in the evenings. I wasn't sure if they had anything vegan, but at bare minimum it would be warm and I could get coffee. Lucky for me, they did have a vegan offering. Lentil soup with Einkorn wheat crisps (big croutons). I have no doubt I could make a better lentil soup (theirs had a very distinctive beer flavor I wasn't totally in love with), but the Einkorn crisps were divine. I could have just eaten them on their own, but instead I dipped them in the over-aled soup and it was nice. Warm and filling. And after that I came home to my children.

That brings me to now. It's after midnight, Snookums is sitting with me as we wait for the fire to die down. I open tomorrow and am trying not to dwell on how little sleep I'll be getting. Because everything about today was worth it, and I don't want it to end. But it must. Goodnight.




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