i remember being in norway on the couch in my grandmothers living room & not being able to sleep because i wanted to remember the way it looks& smells. something that i thought after not being there for so long had made me forget, instead i became sad because it hadn’t changed. her TV still sits in the same place, her favorite chair that she has had ever since i was little still sits worn out in the living room.

what touched me the most was when the neighborhood kids came to her house & sang for her when i was there one afternoon. all the kids where standing outside of her house & they all sang her happy birthday even the smallest of the kids; it was touching to watch how many people my grandmother has touched in her 90 years. how much of an impact she makes-even with the youngest of kids in her neighborhood. the bouquet they gave her was beautiful.

the first night we where there she made fresh apple cake that was sweet-however, she didn’t need to bake anything as she was given 10 cakes in a matter of 3 days. we ate marzipan topped cakes, chocolate & coffee cakes, after breakfast was over we where offered cake. i took a brisk hike with my uncle who is recovering from stroke & who told me stoically that You Shouldn’t Give Up. it’s something that really touched me as this past almost 2 years have been one of the hardest of my life & that my family didn’t look down on me when they where told how hard my life has been instead i was greeted with support& told that i am a member of the Family & not to forget that.

waking up in seattle is hard, knowing that nearly 6000miles away i have Family that are still there for me no matter which way my world turns here in seattle feels Pretty amazing.