a new first

My parents came to visit us last week and it was wonderful.
I hadn't seen them since the wedding and I had been looking forward to having them in our home for so long.  It was something so special to me, like a rite of passage, one of those unexpected firsts, a sacred moment that I didn't realize I'd feel so deeply. The first time my parents come to visit, it felt surreal. This was an occurrence I celebrated as a kid when my parents' parents would come visit, and now it feels like my turn.

I picked them up from the airport for the first time as their married daughter and then we made our way to the house pointing out the sights along the way. My parents helped me move about a million times. From their home, to the dorm room, to the off-campus apartment, to South Carolina, then D.C., and then to the West Coast. And after that move they are off the hook - now I'm T.J.'s problem ;)  I was excited for them to finally see where I now call home. After years of bearing witness to my childhood spent playing house, and building forts in our basement or underneath trees in our backyard, now I would get to show them my own home, a childhood daydream lived out

I wanted them to see where I cook dinner for our little family, where I go grocery shopping, our favorite places to eat out. I wanted them to get a feel for the neighborhood and go on a long walk with me to the water down the road. I wanted to show off our new long awaited couch, the first piece of furniture we bought as a married couple. I wanted to have dinner together around the dining table that they gifted us for our wedding. I wanted them to be able to picture me at the kitchen counter when we're chatting on the phone like I picture them.

I would have been content to just cozy up with them on the couch with a cup of tea and soak them in before they headed back to the east coast, too many miles away.  But since they had never been to Washington before I made sure they got a good taste of this pretty little slice of the Pacific Northwest.

We lucked out with beautiful sunny weather for the first couple days they were in town and so we headed out to Tumwater Falls near Olympia. This was a spot I'd never been before and it was a sweet little oasis in the middle of the city where in the August through September months you can watch the salmon run while you enjoy the cool mist off the waterfalls.
We then made our way into the center of my new state capital and strolled along the waterfront checking out the boats and the people before settling down for a nice lunch outside. Then we toured around the capital mall and basically mom and I spent the rest of the visit drooling over all the huge, blossoming rhododendrons.
On our way home we stopped at the base to pick up a few things for dinners that week from the commissary and my mom made a comment to my dad, "did you ever imagine we'd be shopping at the commissary on an Army base out in Washington Sate with our daughter?"  Never in my childhood daydreams of playing house could I have imagined where God would take me. Washington was never on a list of places I'd could see myself living and loving. And growing up listening to stories from my grandparents of their adventures, I never thought I'd one day also be tied to the military. Oh how amazing the things we don't know we don't know.
Saturday we went to one of our favorite places for dinner and didn't mind waiting a little longer for a table on their rooftop deck. We go for the view of the water, the ferries coming and going, the mountains in the distance, the sunset.  And I felt like I was letting them in on a secret- getting to show them this pretty place we call ours for the time being. It was a great start to their visit. What I hope will be the first of many, perfect visits with my family.

**see my mom's post here

Comments

  1. This makes me smile... could be because I know what it's like to visit kiddos in 'their' city. ;) I also can't believe the weather was so perfect for their visit. It's definitely a year of Firsts for you, isn't it?!

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  2. So well written and so very sweet.

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  3. Yes, you live in such a beautiful part of our great country. My SIL lives in Tacoma and we were there two years ago for a fabulous visit. So glad your parents were able to come and enjoy time with you and TJ. Happy weekend!

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