08.04.25 | Journal entry 138

I went to Washington the last week or so of July and forgot almost entirely about the life waiting for me back home. The days felt endless in the best way possible, with early mornings cloaked in thick fog and warm evenings that melted in golden yellow sunsets.

Most of my time was filled with freezing swims in the Puget Sound, sweet juicy strawberries from the farm stand dribbling down my chin, beach combing for sea glass, & eating carry out dinners on the beach. I felt like a different version of me - the one that is carefree, adventurous, and untethered.

Now I am settling back into the valley, where the heat is stifling everything it touches. I am trying to not wish the remainder of summer away, a season I used to love so much. But I find myself yearning for the solace of dark grey mornings, my body drowning in sweaters three sizes too big, silent walks surrounded by the sounds of the earth, & the comfort of quieter days. The things I uncovered in Washington and the version of myself that delicately unraveled in the wake of a slower pace of life.