guest post: lost bird found.
today, sara from lost bird found would like you to ‘Keep It Like A Secret’.
It’s funny. A little over a year ago we moved from New York City to a tiny little island in the Pacific Northwest called San Juan Island (Friday Harbor). Since moving here, I have felt myself becoming more secretive about where I live, like I am not sure I want to tell too many people because I imagine people like parachuting from planes and taking over the island. A couple of things. I agreed to move here, without ever even visiting it. When we left NYC I don’t think that I had ever been more terrified to move anywhere. Understand this is coming from a girl that woke up one day and thought “Maybe I should go to Uganda” and went. Another day while falling asleep though “I should really just move to Mexico for awhile.” And did, with a trunk packed with shoes, paintbrushes and not much in terms of clothing.
I love New York City, I fear New York City. New York City, is like a hot, sexy, bad boyfriend that you can’t break up with. Without NYC I wouldn’t have my handsome husband, beautiful son and a certain amount of self confidence that had to develop while I was working there, without it I would have been ripped apart.
We moved. To place without traffic lights. We moved, to place that you have to take a boat to, that you have to wait 2 hours for. I don’t think that I will ever be on “island time”. No matter how far back I set my watch, no matter how late I leave it seems like I am still always on time. I love this. Ive come to accept that, nothing will be on time. But that’s okay. A year later, its okay to wait for someone. A year ago, it wasn’t. There is time here. Time to go to the Farmer’s Market, time to figure out what to do with those Fava beans. Time, to be with my son and my husband.
There are amazing driftwood beaches here, little foxes that run up to you looking for treats. My cats have become nearly feral lunatics. We tried to keep them inside but, have you heard a Siamese cat complain? It’s painful. I promised my dog Hugo that he would retire in the country and he is doing just that. Henry gets to eat dinner with his Great Grandpa every night, who lives next door to us. It is amazing. While we had loads of friends in NYC, it was hard not to feel sort of alone sometimes in having a child. Here, people make dinner calendars when an event like surgery, a child or something goes on. It is hard to even make it onto dinner calendars! They fill up so fast its amazing. Seriously. The amount of support is amazing.
We are working on our house, slowly. There are still reminders of our time in NYC. Henry’s tee pee that served as his changing table, later a book hut and now just moving outside sometimes for adventure. Tons of framed images (we are total print whores), that filled an entire wall in our living room previously. Now they meander up the stairs into our house.
I really miss NYC, at 6 o’clock on a Sunday night, when I realize that I don’t have coconut milk and I can’t just send Thor across the street to Key Food to get it. On a weekday morning, I can just stop on the corner and get a delicious bagel, and I don’t care what people say, you can only get a good bagel in NYC. You just can’t make them like that anywhere. I miss the train, but the train has been replaced with drives where Henry sees cows, alpacas, goats and horses on the way to town. I miss deciding to go to the MOMA at the last minute. But if I left here, my little lovely and sweet Friday Harbor I would miss much more. The driftwood beaches with endless rocks for Henry to toss back into the ocean, that there are only two houses on my road, that horses graze just down the hill during the summer and that Henry can feed them carrots. That people value farming and food in a way that I thought I knew about before, but didn’t really. This doesn’t mean, that I wont go back and visit my sexy bad boyfriend this summer. We are gearing up and leaving on Friday morning to drive cross country to NY state, then are driving back 5 weeks later. We will be documenting our travel with a toddler next week. So I do hope that you will come on by my site and check out our adventures.
Thanks for reading.
I love this beautiful tribute to NYC and also the un-NYC life. Went through something similar and you captured it so perfectly!
Friday Harbour is one of those really amazing places. I have visited a few times on boat trips down from Vancouver Island where my parents live. It is a little piece of paradise. But I also here your lament for the big city and being able to pick up coconut milk! Sometimes we don’t know how easy we have it in big cities. Thank you for sharing. It sounds like at the moment you have the best of both worlds.
i love this post soo much. i’ve never lived in new york, but i’m constantly torn between my love for city and country – for busy, bustling places and quiet, secluded, cozy places. i can never decide!
What a beautiful post. It sounds like you’ve moved to an amazing area. And I loved your comparison of NYC to a hot, sexy, bad boyfriend!
XO Piper
OH my gosh. Just reading about your life in the San Juan islands made me so wistful for the one fabulous week I spent there two years ago. It was a bit awkward when we missed the ferry and were set way behind schedule because of that. . but oh so worth it. I am just ACHING to move to the pacific northwest. Hopefully someday. . .
Had you been listening in on my recent conversations with friends, you would know that I am YEARNING for a deserted island. And we already live a little off the beaten path….And I also ache for the beach and the ocean, every day. Not that I’m counting or anything, but we have at least 3 more years to be where we are…..one day you might have a new neighbor. :)
I love this post, Sara. I fantasize about moving to a place like your island, but like you said, NYC is so, so, so hard to leave – I barely made it 60 miles out before I had to come back part time.
You’ve made such a beautiful life for yourselves out there, though. Even without good bagels.
I absolutely love this! What a wonderful post, I can’t wait to read all about your adventures!
Gorgeous post. You make me feel less stressed about moving to the country – I’ve had enough city life!
(Though I do not have your bravado – Uganda & Mexico!!?? Impressive.)
Have a safe and wonderful drive, can’t wait to read your adventures!
great writing, even better soul
every summer until a few years ago we took the ferry to friday harbor for spring break. me, my man and four children and every year for one week i would wish so hard that this could be our life all year round…
one of the most beautiful places i have ever been fortunate to visit, thank you for the this lovely post and for giving me a ‘wave of wonderful family memories’ to wash over me :)
This post leaves me speechless, what a wonderful story about NYC and your island in the Pacific Northwest! And your sentence about the hot sexy bad boyfriend made me smile. Look forward to your new adventures…
Have a good and safe trip, and last but not least: ENJOY!
Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments. We leave tomorrow morning for our first stop! Montana!
I just adore this post… It’s talking to me… Thank you for sharing.
I understand your love for the area as we live in Anacortes on the south end of the island. We have been here five years and love it. There is a different feel that is a bit hard to put your finger on…a unique type of calmness…I am glad I ran across your guest post here and I am running over to check out your blog…Have a great road trip.
i love this. i’m considering up and moving to a place so different than san francisco, and oh lord does it feel like a really awful breakup in the works. i can’t even begin to explain how much this put me at ease, that the ‘simpler’ life will be so worth it.
This is so beautiful; the island sounds idyllic. I find myself split between thinking, “oh how wonderful to live there!” and “oh that would be awful not being able to get what you want when you want it.” But the time thing is most appealing.
This is a realy good thing to read about, thank you for shearing this with us.
I will follow your trip from Argentina, wondering to to the same someday.
what a great post, sara! i love your writing style and enthusiasm!!
boy do I feel your pain.
Brooklyn, NY for 20 years.