By late March, the buds start to open, revealing delicate pink and white petals. We hop in the van and drive toward Show Kinen Park, stopping on the way to pick up a conbini lunch of fried chicken, nigiri, and egg salad sandwiches. We walk familiar paths to a grassy field surrounded by trees heavy with blossoms–an ideal spot for hanami. Hanami means “flower viewing” … Continue reading Hanami
10. You don’t mind dirty looks from strangers when your lap child poops during the plane’s ascent and you can’t change him until you’ve reached cruising altitude. 9. Carrying your toddler around for a week will be the perfect exercise routine after the airline destroys or loses your stroller in transit. 8. The picky eater in your family is ready to branch out (i.e., be … Continue reading Top Ten Reasons to Travel with Kids
The face of a wristwatch stares at me from its case, frozen at 8:15 a.m. Tattered backpacks, left behind by children on their way to school, wait for their owners to claim them from this post-apocalyptic lost-and-found. A tricycle, now rusted, joints stricken with gout, spent 40 years underground before it was resurrected for exhibition. It belonged to a boy named Shin, and grief gnaws … Continue reading Origami of the Heart
You eat chicken and waffles and don’t share a bite. You pose for a picture with your husband in front of the Space Needle (you look so rested in that photo). You don’t worry about kids getting lost in the museum or laying on the floor in a public bathroom. You stroll city streets without a plan, pop into a gallery of glass without hands … Continue reading Seattle, 2014
Melissa Kutsche 