There's something about a Christmas tree.
It brings together the house in such a way; that it's just too good to be true.
Residents sit together and talk around it. The lights are simple: No tree skirt. No fancy ornaments. Simply a bit of garland, large white lights, and no star.
The dog (Cupcake) plays with Kyle, I talk with Sonja & Andrea about Christmas plans. I should get them some gifts. It's such a great feeling to split a house with people who are so warm and welcoming, and to have them accept you and keep you as an old acquaintance.
The city also looks like Christmas lights. Spanning out across the horizon are warm orange and yellow orbs, lit up for the world to see, as the city wraps up its Tuesday.
I always have a hard time believing that it's actually Christmas time. Especially here in the sopping forests of the Northwest. I've missed the snow, but at least some nights are bitter cold, and waste the energy right out of your breath.
That chill in the air is a subtle reminder of the place I will be returning to on Friday. I fly for Ohio at the break of dawn, and enjoy a Cascade sunrise on my way to Dallas.
These mountains out here are starting to get with me. I'm making roots, finally, in this place. It is trouble, because I now am feeling attached. This feeling is reinforced by the fact that I've worked so hard to get here. I feel like I've been climbing up the slopes of Mt. Hood to arrive to this point, and I think I'm now above the timberline.
What if I have started to turn? What if I stay out here? What if I keep this awesome killer group of friends I've started to amass? I'm in life now, and nobody is saying I have to go somewhere else...
I've met people who have claimed this area their home. I now know what this place means for others; where I could not see that before. Now I am stuck in a randomly generated sequence of thoughts between where to go next August once my time is done here.
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