What do you think of when you hear the word, Seattle?  Most people, especially non-natives, may think of RAIN, RAIN, and more RAIN.  Oh… and let’s not forget the gray skies. Ironically, I’ve grown to love this rainy city – even though I’m from the Midwest.

I was born and raised in Northwest Indiana in the cities of Gary, Hammond, and Merrillville. In the Midwest, I was accustomed to four seasons and definitely having clearly defined, predictable weather patterns. I knew I would FREEZE in the winter and BURN in the summer.

I first visited Seattle, Washington in 2000 during the Seattle Hook Season. Hook Season is when the sun is shining brightly with luscious, billowing clouds scattered throughout the skyline and the temperature peeks each day around 75 degrees. You can see every mountain top and city skyline, as well as enjoy nature’s greenery without millions of bugs eating at your skin.

I returned to Seattle in 2005 to LIVE.  The move from Indiana to Washington state was purely in response to my dysfunctional home life; I needed to get away from an unsafe situation. So what do people do when they have to move? We look for the next available place where we can seek and experience community the fastest. For me, my aunt lived in Seattle, so it was natural for me to choose a far away place with a community of people already present.

The BEST rationale for choosing to stay in Seattle was because I fell in LOVE!  Before I went off to college in 2006, I worked with an extremely handsome gentleman who, honestly, helped me realize my self-worth again. Now, if you haven’t noticed by my blog pictures, I’m African American. This amazing man I speak of is White American with multiple European ethnicities. Honestly x2, I had never dated outside of my race. Reason one – while growing up, people/family labeled me as “White” because of the way I speak. [Don’t worry, I’m so over that now.] As a result, I tried to prove [them] wrong through who I chose to date. Reason two – I wasn’t necessarily attracted to those who were White in my community circles lol.

So, as I got to know this gentleman, I almost instantly felt like I had found my soul mate.  This almost perfect man’s (because no one is perfect) name is Kerry Sutton.  If you know Kerry, you know that he is a TRUE Seattleite.  He LOVES Seattle – FROM the gray skies and dry rain (I’ll explain dry rain later) TO every Seattle sports team – this man refuses to leave this awesome city.  We love it’s ethnic, language, socioeconomic, religious, and much more DIVERSITY.  This diversity does not eliminate the negative social constructs and discrimination that runs so deeply in the United States; but the years of Seattle rain, wind, gray skies, and clouds doesn’t seem too bad in comparison to loosing the love of my life. To make things official, we married each other in 2010 and had our first child in 2014. #10yearstogether #6yearsmarried

Welcome to my Northwest Mamahood Blog, where I will tell you the many stories of how/why I have grown to LOVE & enJOY the Pacific Northwest. #NWMH #NorthwestMamahood

Why do you LOVE the Pacific Northwest? Share your story too.