The Seattle Chronicles: Day Eleven

"So fill to me the parting glass; good night and joy be with you all..."

I slept till almost eleven, heading out in the Jeep for Sacred Heart in Bellevue. Gretchen was able to see me for a little bit. We talked of our days when she taught me in high school; her Humanities Seminar was one of the most rewarding experiences of those years. We also got caught up on each other's lives, and I told her of my plans for coming out in the summer.

Afterwards, I drove down Interstate 5, stopping off at a parish of the same name near the Seattle Center, to go to confession at the only place where it was available during the week. (This certainly was a long way from Arlington.) My confessor was a good Joe, just in from Chicago, and new to his assignment. It was good to take spiritual stock of things with the new year.

I got back on the Interstate, mistakenly going south instead of north. But it gave me one more chance to look upon this city I had come to love. I knew I would one day return.