Hello, my name is Kati...

...And after 15 years I am finally able to admit that I am a true Washingtonian. Yes, it's true, I have been calling myself a Californian since I moved here and could never really admit that I was a true Washington resident.

What made me realize I was a Washingtonian, you ask? Well, let me tell you. A few days back I was driving along minding my own business driving the speed limit, no less, when all of a sudden out of nowhere there is a car in front of me going 15 MPH under the speed limit. My first thought was that it was an older resident from my neck of the woods--they tend to drive slowly, but at a closer inspection I realized they were actually from out of state. Where? From California of course! Ha! And you know what my first thought was when I realized that? "Typical Californian doesn't know how to drive in the rain." Yes! That is what I thought! I know! How rude! How could I think that about a fellow Californian?

I then realized if I am thinking this then truly I am no longer a true Californian. California has left the building. Washington has seeped into my skin and into my bones and does not want to leave. My hair smells of rainy days and beautiful evergreens, low tides and sunny warm days. Yes, Washington is apart of me and I don't ever want to lose it.

I will always have a special place in my heart for the Napa Valley with it's Oak trees and vineyards, mustard fields and bright blue skies, but I have realized that it could never make me want to lose seeing the beautiful Pacific Northwest every day of my life.

I love the cozy feeling during the fall months and the freezing feeling of winter; the fresh air of spring and the hot sun of summer. I love the shade an evergreen provides and the smell of the Puget Sound during summer days. I love walking on my lawn and feeling the moss squishing beneath my feet. I love driving along 101 during any season heading to my parents cabin. And if I may quote my father-in-law, "I'm liking the Lichen."

Hello, my name is Kati and I am a Washingtonian.