Kari in Evolution

It's been a crazy life season and writing on this blog has gotten shuffled to the sidelines.  So, it's time to dust off the keyboard and start writing again!

I'm in Boston again, for the first time in 3 years...it is surreal.  So much happened in my life while I lived here, and a great deal more has influenced who I am since my move back to Seattle.  Now the old life and the new Kari converge again, and the result is striking, vast array of emotions.  I have evolved and grown in the past three years...I am looking at the world with new eyes and a new heart. 

Smell is known to be the sense most strongly connected to memory...a profoundly evident truth this week.  Each city has a unique smell.  I recognize Boston immediately as I exit the plane.  The air is thick with humidity with a marked temperature change from the street as I descend deep into the subway station.  Each "T" (subway) station has its own smells and sounds which radiate from the brick, the tile, the tracks.  Each section of track has distinct rhythms...a distinct pattern of grinding metal-on-metal and swaying rail cars, and just beneath the level of consciousness lies a subtle awareness that the train is pulling into Harvard square.  The ride from downtown to Porter square awakens distinct and vivid memories with each layer of scent...rubber, metal, dust, age, damp brick and mortar, faint exhaust.  Train noise overpowers conversation during the commuting rush hour...people noises dominate during off-peak hours.  Adolescents enjoy their freedom, boistrous and jovial.  Tourists bury their noses in maps and brochures and hang on for dear life.  Locals stand fearlessly as though bragging to the rest of us "look, no hands". 

There is freedom in not owning a car.  More freedom than nuisance.  I didn't own a car for more than 2 years...rented or used Zipcar when real necessities arose.  Stretch those legs, walk tall with long strides, move on your own energy.  I admire communities which rely on mass transit and long for Seattle to enjoy the same conveniences.  I remember the pride in making grocery trips by foot or by T...reusable bags piled high in my granny-cart.  Oh to have had a pedometer this week!  Oh how well I have slept this week. 

Observation.  On benches and in cafes there are readers buried deep books...I see imaginary bubbles rise above their heads with images of their thoughts as they absorb the thoughts, facts, stories.  One in five people has phone to their ear...fictional conversations are contrived in my head based on their body language. An elderly woman sits on the sidewalk, a disintegrating Dunkin' Donuts styrofoam cup jingling with change.  A young professional woman walks by dressed to the nines.

Success vs. Failure. 
Wealth vs. Poverty. 
Acceptance vs. Rejection. 
Sun vs. Thunderstorms. 
Art vs. Vandalism.
Home vs. House.
Contentedness vs. Ache.

Breathe.  Just breathe and enjoy the ride.

My dear Seattle, I will be home on Sunday!