This weekend we took a short road trip to Portland — specifically my hometown of Lake Oswego — for my nephew’s high school graduation party and my niece’s voice recital. Although my husband doesn’t miss Portland much, I always feel a little homesick when I return. It’s where I grew up, where our children spent their early years, and it still feels like home even though we now live in Seattle.
I can hardly believe our son Luke was only in second grade when we moved from Portland to Washington. He has lived half his life in Portland and half in Washington. He’ll be graduating from high school next year, which feels both exciting and emotional.
We’ve now lived in Washington for nine and a half years. To put that in perspective, I started this blog eleven years ago, so we moved about a year and a half after I began posting here.
How time flies!
When we moved, my daughter Courtney was finishing her last year of high school in Lake Oswego; she graduated from college with an interior design degree five years ago. Kylee had just married a few months before our move — she and her husband Lance will be married ten years this August.
We spent our first six years in Washington on the Kitsap Peninsula, then moved to Seattle three years ago so our family could be closer while Luke was in high school. Kylee, Lance and Courtney moved to Seattle during college and have stayed in the city since.
Moving to Washington was a whirlwind and a risk, but it brought many positive changes for our family. We’re glad we took the chance — so much has been accomplished and so many good things have come from that decision.
Even though we feel settled here, I enjoy driving through a few of my old neighborhoods to reminisce and see some favorite houses. I always love sharing photos so you can come along for the drive.
The photo above shows the last house my family lived in when I was in high school — a beautiful English-style home on a small Lake Oswego peninsula with water on three sides. I loved living there. The house has changed over the years, but driving by still brings back many memories.
That view doesn’t capture the lakeside perspectives, though. If I can get more photos from the water, I might share another post about this house and some of the other homes I’ve lived in.
The house behind the iron gates above is another home I grew up in, the one we lived in just before moving to the lake house. It’s a lovely white colonial, but it’s difficult to photograph the front because the property is very private. I was tempted to dash down the driveway or sneak through the bushes for a better shot — maybe next time.
The house hidden behind the hedge belongs to someone I’ve always thought of as the “Martha Stewart” of the neighborhood — the landscaping is always perfectly manicured. I love driving by and admiring that secret gate; I’ve featured it on the blog before.
I hope you enjoyed this little drive through my old stompin’ ground. (By the way, what exactly is a “stomping ground” anyway?)
Are you still living in the city you consider your hometown? Or have you set out on new adventures like I have? How do you feel about where you live now — do you ever feel homesick? I’d love to hear your stories.
PS — I’ve noticed homesickness is more common these days since people move more often. I’m a homebody, so it makes sense that I sometimes long for that sense of being back home.