From Portland, we drove a few hours north to Seattle, where our daughter, Tobi. and god daughter, Aly, live. We wanted one last visit with each before we headed south.
Bessie in Tobi’s driveway.
We parked Bessie snuggly in a side driveway next to Tobi’s house and while Tobi went to an evening meeting, we drove to Fremont (in North Seattle) to get Aly.
Aly (19) has been a part of our family since we helped out her teen mom with childcare when Aly was a baby. She has lived with us off and on, and each year she feels more like a daughter than a god daughter. (We chose to call her “god daughter” early on simply because we couldn’t find any other label that would explain our relationship with this sometimes-daughter.)
Aly in front of the hostel.
Aly finished high school last year and has worked on two ranches with a “work-away” program. Ready for some city life, she got herself to Seattle and landed a work-exchange with the hostel in Fremont and works as a server in the pub next door. She plans to save up enough money to get herself to Germany in the fall. She has made her own way in life, with just a little help from us, and we are so proud of her.
Aly gave us a tour of the surprisingly posh hostel, and we took her to dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant nearby, then brought her back to Bessie for the night. We took her back for her work shift in the morning, then came back and puttered with Bessie and visited with Tobi.
We left Bessie in Tobi’s driveway and drove the CRV to Whidbey Island to visit friends for a couple of days. We’ll get to spend more time with Tobi when we come back on Friday.
Sounds like it’s going great so far. As for dear Aly, my sister uses the term ‘bonus daughter’ for a young woman who came into her life. See you soon.
“Bonus daughter,” I like that!! From now on, Aly is our bonus daughter!