What a wonderful time it was to be back in Washington. The outpouring of love I felt from those people I was able to visit was amazing. This was the last place I had lived before I moved to Sweden. I had lived here for the last 30 years of my life, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise. I had built such a network here.

It did surprise me how quickly I felt at home again. I expected it to be different and far more difficult to return. Instead, it was refreshingly natural to be with my step-daughters and their kids. Even the time I spent with my ex-husband felt okay. We had become friends during the time I had been away. We still could talk, and we even drove an hour each way to the apartment building we own together.

Dan had been working very hard to split the commercial portion of our building into 4 units, from 2, and had already lined up tenants for them. I was impressed with his hard work and appreciated him doing so much to improve it. I was glad to see we could still work well together despite the divorce. I went down for a day and gathered materials, while Dan did the construction.

I am very grateful for all the work I have done to be in this place. It was not easy forgiving him for wanting the divorce. However, my relationships with his children are better than ever. I was very sad to leave them again but so very grateful for the quality time we had together both alone and with their families. I would never have imagined it could be that way. I have always struggled with where I fit in. Dan has always encouraged our relationships, and now the fruit of the labor is more evident.

I did get to see my cat Olive as well. She was not as happy to see me. She wouldn’t let me pet her at first, and when I finally did, she only allowed it a short time before letting me know she had had enough. That made it easier to leave her permanently with the couple who adopted her. Seeing that she was okay helped that. She is especially attached to the Ralph, and they call her their angel kitty.

There were some nice days and some rainy days. I enjoyed them all. I spent the last couple of days with my friend Kathleen, who treated me so well. I enjoyed all my visits and sadly did not get to see everyone, but I did a lot in 11 days. I did get a pedicure with my friend Beverly and treated myself to a much needed massage. I feel extremely blessed.

I was able to see the beauty of the state of Washington again. I had planned to drive from there to Idaho, which would have taken 13 hours, but I decided to fly instead. I went through some of my storage items and found the socks I forgot to pack when I came. I got rid of a few boxes of clothes and some other items. There is still a lot of stuff, but I will wait to go through it again when I am settled.

My flight to Idaho Falls was a short one. 1 hour and 25 minutes. It beats driving 13 hours, but I did have to miss seeing a couple of friends along the way. There is always a compromise no matter what you choose sometimes. I am back at my family home and ready to enjoy some time with siblings and their families, my parents and my cousins, and hopefully a few friends. I feel very blessed to have them to return to and feel their abundant love for me. It feels as if no time has passed despite it being 1 1/2 years since we last saw each other.

I am very fortunate to have been able to have the experiences I have had thus far and look forward to the coming week. I get to enjoy some downtime as well. Not as busy as my trip to Tacoma, Washington. I will only be here a little over a week, and I know time will go quickly. Returning home has been far better than I expected.