Evac Day 15: Going Home

The mandatory evac has been lifted on our neighborhood and our friends are making their way home. The fire is still burning furiously in the mountains near us but I guess is now 50% “contained” so there’s some confidence it won’t reach down into our residential area, not this time. We are safe for now. We are in New York, my original, original hometown, the hometown that has been my home all along while I have lived in all kinds of places all over the globe.

This city is where I feel safest, most me, most comfortable, even still, even though I made my primary residence in California many years ago. I love the crowdedness, the energy, the abundance of stuff, and of course the density of interesting people doing interesting things and fabulous food everywhere.

The thing I like to do most here is walk around, just walk and see what there is to be seen, take it all in and then stop somewhere random for a nosh and keep going. Ax is not a huge walker, but he’s gotten pretty adept at his Karate-inspired interpretive sidewalk dancing as a means of locomotion.

He’s too young to appreciate a lot of what there is to be appreciated here, but he’s having a great time being him, here. They have pasta marinara and chocolate muffins here, and LEGO, and a lot of interesting dogs walking around who need to be greeted.

Last night Mike and I had a date night. We went to dinner somewhere hip and there were throngs of 20- and 30-something strivers with blowouts drinking cocktails at the bar and it was a little hit of Christmas past.

I was so grateful to be here in my current incarnation, a visiting California mama, married to her soulmate and pal for life, enjoying the downtown vibe in my comfy shoes and messy hair before our return to the West Coast nest.

There’s so much to appreciate everywhere if I just stay connected to that channel. I can be home anywhere it turns out. I’m gonna keep going.