Seattle Trip of Dreams and Wonder, Part II: Blogger Family

I can now cross off number two on my Twenty Before Twenty-One list.

The Blogger Family met in Seattle last week. We are all crazy–spending hundreds of dollars and traveling thousands of miles to stay in hotel rooms with people we had never met prior to this. To answer the most pressing question: Was anyone a creepy old man with pedophiliac intentions? Only one, but we were able to outrun him, so everything turned out okay. (I'm kidding, Mom.)

My brain had a hard time rationalizing that I was actually in the same room as these people. It kept thinking But why aren't you in a computer? I had to keep reminding myself that they were really there in front of me. I think I may have poked a few of them.

The weirdest thing of all though was that it really wasn't weird. We were all prepared for it to be a little awkward since talking via Facebook or even over the phone is different than meeting face-to-face, but it wasn't. Everyone just clicked. It was as if we'd always known each other (and this feeling was only reinforced by Dillon's mom and the hotel concierge).

We managed to squeeze so much in the few days we had together. Dillon, the Seattle native, went above and beyond planning what we would do each day and ensuring we were having a good time. We enjoyed the beautiful weather, shopped (a lot. Probably too much) ate fabulous food (well, except that one time), explored different parts of the city, ran through fountains, took naps in parks, made s'mores (Nicola's first!), and took a million pictures. We even got to meet Sam! 

My favorite part of every day was the meals. We all passed our food and drinks around the table to be shared, and laughed and told stories and talked about "next time." One of the more idyllic concepts of "family," to me at least, is that of a group of people gathered around a table just like we were, so each time I looked around at everyone during a meal, my heart felt as though it could burst. Because that's exactly what we are–a family.

This trip was so much more than any of us were hoping for. It was one of the best weeks of my life. I knew there would probably be tears at the end of it, but I was not prepared for how difficult it really was. I cried more that last day than I have in a very long time. It feels like I've left a sizable chunk of my heart behind.

Luckily, as Nicola pointed out, it wasn't really a "goodbye." It was a "see you next year," and while a year still seems like much too long, it's better than a "see you never." We have the little things we gathered from this trip to help us through until the next. Any time I get too down in the coming months, I'll just remember the time Shelby stuck her foot in a public toilet.

Love you guys so much. See you in Austin.

-Maggie