When I retired and told my wife I wanted to go back to Bozeman and fight political corruption and get involved in politics, she decided to stay in Seattle.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I grew up in Seattle, but I always knew I wanted to leave.
I never wanted to separate from either wife. It was accumulated stress. We had virtually no time to ourselves. After politics we were both working very hard to establish new careers.
I kept telling everyone I wasn't going to Washington to stay. I go to visit.
I retired when the Supreme Court rose for the summer recess in 2009, and a couple of weeks later I drove north from Washington with no regrets about the prior 19 years or about the decision to try living a more normal life for whatever time might remain.
I moved out eventually of the White House and moved into a townhouse with a group of girls while I was in college.
People assume that I came back to Washington because of the 'Post', but the truth is less romantic. I came back for a job.
After that, I came back every year. Everyone said, 'Well, when you retire you can move there.' But I said, 'Why should I live my whole life where I don't want to be.'
I had no intention of getting back into politics. I was teaching at Bowdoin and happily retired from politics.
I went from the glamour of working with Karl Lagerfeld and John Galliano to living on an isolated hilltop, with my husband gone most of the time.
My wife is a writer. She grew up in Alaska. She told me she was moving to Boulder and that I could come with her if I wanted to. We were married at the time, so I chose to come with her.