Leaving Yakima, the Palm Springs of Washington

We left Yakima yesterday. Leaving meant something different for each of us. I can only touch on the tip of the various emotions that we all felt as we drove west. The kids were both sad and excited. Both seem to be looking forward to what is to come, however, neither like to be reminded of what we are leaving.

For Jason, leaving meant working his last day at Macy's. He is walking away from an almost 20 year career in retail management. He's mentioned a few times how much he is looking forward to NOT working at 3 AM the day after Thanksgiving this year! No matter the level of freedom that he feels for leaving behind the retail machine, I have to believe there is a little sad in there too. Jason has always been very well liked by his teams and enjoyed being a leader. I think that the sadness is diminished by the brightness of the uncertainty we are moving toward.

For me, leaving Yakima is more than just moving out of a house, away from a city, or even away from the US. I found happiness in Yakima. I figured out what it meant to be me and to really hold my values close. Honestly, if it weren't for Yakima I wouldn't have the confidence to be making this leap now. Four years ago when we moved there I was a mere shadow of my current self. Good? Bad? You decide. All that I know is that four years ago as we searched for a home and planted roots into a new city, my address mattered to me. My clothes, my car, my stuff. It all mattered. I measured richness in tangibles. This started to slip away as my intangibles became so much more valuable than they had ever been before. My "things" dimmed in the light of the relationships around me. It sounds a little fluffy, but it's real. I could not have walked away from my loved ones four years ago to experience life; I would have been too worried that no one would be there when I came back. Now, I can leave, knowing full well that the people that I love will always be there, no matter my address, car, or clothes.

I have to say Thank You, THANK YOU, to the Donegan family. For the last week of our time in Yakima they fed and entertained us when we had no access to our home, loaned us a car to use in town and to bring to Seattle with us, and they sent us off with the most heartfelt of farewells. To say that our family loves that family doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. Let's just say that in the commune of my dreams, they are my neighbors. :)

Comments

  1. McMahan familyAugust 29, 2011 at 3:50 PM

    Tawnya, this is amazing. I am inspired by what you're writing. Thank you for sharing your journeys with us. -Mandy (Makowichuk) McMahan

    ReplyDelete

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