Seattle was very somber in the wake of the election last week and by Friday Shane and I were ready to get out of town. Â So we packed our bags and headed to the faraway land of…Portland! Â Which was actually just as somber a city as Seattle, if not more so, but there was comfort in being with family. Â We rolled up Friday afternoon and headed right to the playground, as Juliette was eager to run free with Morgan and Elise.
Sitting on Mitch’s front porch and watching the kids play tag has become one of my favorite Portland pastimes.
Juliette bunked with her cousins that night, and as soon as all was quiet in the kids’ room, the grown-ups gathered in the living room to crack open a bottle of wine and pour our post-election hearts out.  I don’t know that I’ve ever spoken so candidly with Mitch and Kathryn about politics and religion, laying bare my hopes and fears.  I so appreciated their insight and refusal to despair; my brother is ever the optimist, my sister-in-law level-headed and fair.  We ended with evening with a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity, which had all of us doubled over with laugher, tears streaming down our faces.  Gosh, it felt good to get goofy.
The kids woke obscenely early on Saturday and all of us dragged a little throughout the day as a result. Â We lounged a lot, napped hard, played Candy Land and did puzzles and took inventory of Morgan and Elise’s 200 Shopkins. Â Shane and I snuck away in the evening for a drink at The Bible Club, a cozy little speakeasy in Sellwood, and recharged with stiff cocktails and some kid-free conversation.
Sunday morning was gray and quiet; Mitch made a frittata and the girls did more Shopkin-trading. Â Juliette pondered the future from her window seat.
By 10 am though, the kids were over the whole lazy-Sunday thing, so we headed over to Westmoreland Park to ride bikes and climb trees.
We grabbed a treat at Grand Central Bakery in Sellwood and let the girls burn off their cinnamon roll sugar-rush with a walk through town.
With that, it was time to say our goodbyes and hit the road. Â Juliette cried as we pulled away from the curb, begging to go back to Morgan and Elise’s house. Â Soon, kiddo, soon! Â Christmas is just around the corner.