Memories

Hiawatha Playground

West Seattle

I've lived in this neighborhood since 1980-- a long time. Of course, West Seattle is greatly changed, but it's surprising how many places and houses still look pretty much as they did 40 years ago.  There's a lifetime of memories as I walk around the neighborhood on my 2-mile loop.

Like this little brick rental house, where I once stood in the backyard (30 years old) watching Mt. St. Helens erupt! And so on...

When Amanda was a toddler, we often went to Hiawatha Park. I remember worrying about her getting hurt climbing around on these "big dangerous" rocks.  Now they look like pebbles. And now she's a nurse, working on the front lines of the pandemic, with a family of her own in a challenging time.  (There's always something for a mom to worry about.)

Kids are great at bringing new friends home, and we had a nice local social life.  We adults were busy, but not in the same way as now.  Friends called each other on landlines and talked for hours. It seemed like there were always weekend parties and drop-by visits.

I still walk by some of the old houses where our friends once lived. Of course most folks left these starter homes years ago, and we've lost touch. 

In the alley, behind an old house where we often visited, I noticed this poppy yesterday.  I remembered my friend Jeannie asked me to dig up some of the poppies that were growing wild in our yard. That was over 35 years ago. She transplanted them in her alley. Poppies are such tough and persistent perennials. Could this be a descendant? Life goes on.