On May 10, 2009 I left everything I knew following a boy to a state I knew nothing about. People told me I was crazy. People told me I would be lonely. People told me I was too young. Just over two years later I find life taking me to another state following the same boy leaving all that I have here behind. The difference this time is that I have no desire to leave.
I have called Steilacoom “home” for the past two years and it will always hold a very special place in my heart. They day I arrived I walked down to Sunnyside Beach falling in love with the area ever sense then. The prettiest sunsets, the foggiest of days, the darkest of winter all fall upon Steilacoom. I have traveled all over the lower 48 and have not seen anywhere that matches the majesty of Steilacoom.
The town feels remote isolated from I-5 with limited amenities provided; but the town has marked significant events in my life causing an emotional attachment to the area. The day after I turned 21, October 25, I went to Jake’s Bar, which then only served beer and nachos, where I got hooked on really good beer. Ever since then, we have become use to good Northwestern beer. The day where my life changed forever, July 17, took place at the Steilacoom Town Hall when I married my husband in a very private ceremony of just us and our two brothers with the sun setting behind the cascades. The day after my husband left on deployment, September 12, I went to the post office where the postwoman came to know me on a very personal and vulnerable way during the next 13 months. She joined me in celebration and sadness with each box adding to the story of the past year.
Coming to a place where I knew no one, I now have community and a love for the place. The town was the beginning of our life together as one flesh. The majority of our time was spent at the dog park, on Chamber Creek Rd, or at Sunnyside beach. All of the times when my husband was in training or deployed the city of Steilacoom opened its arms and held me. The town not only became my home but my stability and a reminder of the beauty of God’s creation and his love for me. My days here are limited now and it breaks my heart.
