Birth-week adventures

I was spoiled this year with a true birth-week complete with a sunny and warm trip to the coast and a windy, snowy trip up to the mountains. All in a week's work! Sandwiched in between was a hike in Portland's own Forest Park, covered in a thick Pacific Northwest mist that made me feel like I was deep in the woods inside a fairytale. Every moment of the week filled me with so much love for this new place I am learning to call home and all the people I have been fortunate enough to share it with. There was no better birthday gift than having my parents here to spend the week in Portland with me, and my roommates have been the most wonderful new adventure buddies. I have to keep reminding myself that I actually live here, next to all this beauty, because it honestly feels a little hard to believe.

The time I've spent on these little outdoor adventures has filled me up in a way that few other things have and has reminded me why I wanted to move out here. But at the same time I've become increasingly aware of the hole I feel in my heart for the people and places I miss. Something about the way all the people in my life suddenly come out of the woodwork on my birthday to wish me a happy day reminds me of just how many people in this world I have to love. But it felt different this year when every text was from a person far away, who I missed, unsure of when I'd see them again. It was a bittersweet birthday in the same way that missing the people you love is bittersweet.

Oftentimes admitting you miss home feels like succumbing to defeat as far as moving away goes. I don't want my story to read like that. I am loving where I am and who I am with, and missing where I used to be and who I used to be with, all at the same time. I think all of these feelings are a part of my experience and I don't think these feelings will change either. I am learning every day that tension isn't always meant to be resolved and that in my case it might be a privilege to hold this tension -- a sign of how much I have to love.

For now, I hope you enjoy some of these pictures from my birth-week adventures (and maybe use them as inspiration to plan a trip to the Northwest -- I'm always welcome to visitors!!)