The Reasons I Love Renton (Spring Edition)

First let me say that I'm excited to be a part of the Renton Patch blog. I love this town! Second, I have to admit I'm a newbie to Renton. I don't have a history here or family ties or tons of friends and connections. In fact, this time last year I hadn't even heard of Renton.

A year ago I was living in North Hollywood, California with my son and daughter. My husband Erik, after getting laid off from his job at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, had taken a job in Phoenix, Arizona and was commuting home on the weekends. Life was hard. I too had been laid off from my teaching job, we suddenly had no health insurance, our son was struggling in school, and our house was worth HALF of what we paid for it it 3 years earlier. To sum it up – we were the epitomy of the American Recession. We had moved to California in 2005 from our home state of West Virginia with hopes and expectations that for a while, were working out nicely, but in 2010 seemed to shrivel up and die like my gardening attempts in the blaring Southern California sun.

Then, a ray of sunshine came from the land of rain. A company in Tukwila contacted my husband about a job opening, flew him up for an interview, and offered him the job if he could start right away. Suddenly, the Seattle area was an option, and a good looking one too. Erik brought home photos of green grass, trees, ferns, moss, Mount Rainier, and Lake Washington and said, “I think you'll love it here. I reminds me of West Virginia.” It didn't take much convincing.

I'll fast forward through the headache of getting here – 2 months apart, house hunting from afar, the move up with 2 adults, 2 kids, a collie and a cat in my car and then 6 weeks in the Extended Stay on Oakesdale while we waited for the bank to approve our home loan – it was all worth it. Now that we're here, I couldn't be happier.

People say, “Oh but the rain, don't you find it depressing?”

And I say, “I love it.”

After 5 years of SUN SUN SUN I love the unpredictable Puget Sound weather. When it first snowed back in November I think I was more excited than my kids to go play in it. I love that in the course of a day I can see gray clouds, drizzle, downpour, wind blowing through the trees, and sunshine breaking through the clouds.  I stare at the sky like a child and marvel at the clouds. I forgot how much I missed them.

And the green! Glorious green!

And moss! Marvelous moss!

And the flowers! Tulips and daffodils and azaleas and rhododendrons and peonies! Imagine my delight when I found these bursting from the ground in my front yard. Thank you, people who live in this house before us. What a lovely surprise.

I even love the dandilions which some people call weeds. They look like little spots of sunshine to me.

My neighbor lady friends say, “Ugh, this spring is so cold and gloomy.”

And I say, “I love it.”

Another thing I love? Having neighbor lady friends, who, after I'd only lived here a week, invited me out for drinks at a Terrible Beauty downtown. I feel like I hit the neighborhood jackpot.

I know that soon enough I'll take all these things for granted, but this is my first spring here and I just made it through a particularly rough year, so forgive me for my giddiness. Since I still have so much to explore, I'd love to know... What do you love best about Renton?