comings and goings

back in an airport, watching people drag bags down marble floors while simultaneously eating pieces of pizza, looking frantic. seattle is beautiful, a solid place to return to the united states. the cascades and olympics winking at me on the way home from the airport, squeezed tightly with four friends in a two door car.

i've been home a week, and i'm stuck in an interim of feeling not quite at home anywhere. seattle feels comfortable, like slipping into an old pair of jeans. but i keep thinking, in rome, in rome, in rome, in rome the coffee came in the form of cappuccinos and the sky was always blue. in rome, the milk tastes like ice cream and pizza dough doesn't come from a can. in rome, birds flew in murmurations like magic, and the air tasted like licorice and salt.

i came home to a flurry of hugs and hellos, and a surprise party complete with keystone light and balloons. it was perfect, and this week was full of sleeping and old faces looking new. now i am in an airport again, waiting to board a plane to las vegas, where i will gamble $5 and then fly back to nashville. another day, another home. never ending comings and goings, airport arrivals, and attempting to remember and forget at the same time.