Home

We went to Green Lake Park yesterday. It was really a beautiful day, sunny but cool. We sat on a bench, Bryce's arm around my shoulders, and pointed out every single dog that passed. "Ooh look at that one." "That puppy has freckles on his nose!" "Is that a miniature Doberman?" "No, I think that's a different breed altogether. Cute, though." "Aww, what a fluffy floof."

It was therapeutic.

We went out to dinner, still with windswept and sweaty hair from biking, and were seated at the best table in Cedar's. The food (Indian) was delicious, although slightly too spicy. I've started keeping a list of preferred restaurant spiciness. It currently consists of "Cedar's: 2 stars."

This morning we got to Zoka Coffee (a cafe very near to our apartment) early enough to grab great seats. It's a beautiful cafe. The entire outside wall is pure windows. The tables and chairs and floor are all old wood. The place is neat and clean, with small pieces of photography on the walls. 

I think what I like most about it is that it isn't a typical Seattle cafe. Sometimes it feels like every cafe in Seattle is competing to be "city's quirkiest coffee shop." Which, you know, is cool and hip and whatever, but sometimes I'd just like to sit and have jasmine tea without a full-sized bike-riding skeleton hanging on the wall above my head, ya know? And yes, that exists here. I haven't gone back to that place. The other wall decorations were just as irritating.

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How long does it take for a place to feel like home? If you Google that question, there are just mountains of forum posts of people asking the same question, over and over: "How long will it take for me to feel comfortable in this place?" "When will it feel like we've finally settled in?" "How long does it take? How long does it take?" And people responding, over and over: "Be patient. It won't happen in a day. Go out and explore. Join clubs, join a softball team, find a favorite coffee shop or a favorite park, build a routine."

Bryce and I have been here for 6 months. Wow! I just counted that up and I hadn't realized it had been that long. It doesn't feel like it's been 6 months. Didn't we just move here a month ago or something? 

Anyway, it's given me a lot to think about in terms of what makes something feel like home. Is it knowing the area? No. I navigated us to Green Lake with ease yesterday. Is it having a favorite coffee shop? No. As much as I love Zoka, I've really only been here three times or so. Is it having a routine? That's an interesting one. I wouldn't know. I don't quite have one yet.

Some things are routine. I have cardio kickboxing every Sunday at 5. I like to walk to the grocery store afterward. It's a mildly long walk, and my legs are a little tremble-y from the workout, but I like it. I buy ingredients for dinner or for a meal I can make for weekday lunches. Bryce meets me at the grocery store, and we drive home to cook. I really like that routine. It's calming. 

I've also joined a Meetup group: Geek Girls of Seattle. It's refreshing to meet new people who aren't in graduate school. They have jobs, some have kids and husbands, some are stay-at-home people, and all have geeky interests. There's a book club meeting for it later today. I'm very excited to be part of a book club. 

But it's not quite home yet. And I should probably be patient. I feel like I'm doing all the right things to make it home. We explore, we do things, we have a favorite Thai restaurant, I'm doing my best to meet people. But I guess, at the end of the day, it's not really about doing the "right things." Home is something you make, yes. But I really think "home" is also something that just happens. Be patient.