a long summer

for...
...months of friends to say goodbye to and enough love and joy to make me miss them
...families that get to take their kids home, even with machines
...nurses who embrace me amid a crisis
...being asked to pray on the spot at a funeral
...writing and writing and writing it all out
...a home that has seen so much life it is evident when it is empty
...learning how to make an old family recipe
...being there at the very end, even the walk to the car
...friends across the country
...getting to say 'hello' and 'welcome back' this month
...rest and walking and swimming and lying in the sun
...sticking around
...burgers the size of your head
...new friends
...laughter and stories and time with old friends
...taking the long way

this is my time

* books that meet me where I am
* the Beatles of CHOA -- Sargeant Pepper's Sacred Hearts Club Band
* good talks, expressing appreciation, hearing and saying the important things
* frisbee on the quad, especially with rain or monks
* the power of reframing (for a DNR or for alone time)
* moving forward through the transition, finding bits of clarity
* cousins and friends in Florida
* British humor
* the intensity of watching hospital shows while working in a hospital
* homemade mac 'n cheese, and people to eat it with
* babysitting again after so long, because it's good to see healthy kids

the sound of the genuine

Prior to Last Week:

* finishing a CPE summer
* saying farewell while planning my return
* sunny days
* swings!
* packing a lunch
* Braves game with my CPE boys
* tying up some loose ends

Going Home (MN):
* delayed flights and chats with strangers
* Ben and Marie's smiling faces at baggage claim
* wandering The Mall
* flattened penny souveniers
* a Twins game at the Dome
* Nordic Landscapes
* turtle races
* high O's (dOncha knOw?)
* watching Ben deal with Marie's pre-teen brother
* a lively dinner with Ben's family
* lakes and lakes and lakes
* childhood friends
* knocking on the Olsons' door, like usual every few years
* Andrew doesn't listen to music
* hugs from Uncle Mark
* Aunt Harriet's intentional conservationism
* Uncle Dave and Andrew trying out the knorks
* Em & Ryan's cookout
* meeting baby Cole
* Phil and Greg being Phil and Greg
* the way Rita's face squishes up when she laughs
* Lunds & Byerlys
* Aunt Kack's hospitality
* enjoying Bob's grilled salmon?
* Bert's unabashed love of parodies and classical music
* Jana's anticipation
* finally getting a device to transmit the ipod in the car
* arriving back in the ATL

Show me a good piggybacker...

deep chats in an empty nurses' station
inflated glove = chicken balloon
laughing over veggie dinner with Spuggles and DBC
texting with a college friend
innuendo
driving
a case of the Mondays
big blue chairs
honey biscuits
tales of tomatoes and dehydration
mixed up mix cd
cotton candy and beer

Bob's Your Uncle

Savannah!
sun, sand, ocean and sky
serendipidous hotel
the glow of sunset on the wet sand
a flock of pelicans overhead
frisbee on the beach ("the boys would be so proud")
cobblestone streets
funny little shops
mmm... bbq burger...
hot sun and cool breezes
laughing with DBC
a variety of music as the soundtrack of our trip
art galleries, artists, paintings, woodwork
good food
seeing the Shanfro
cool rain
metro coffee house -- thrift store chic without the chic
reading until I'm sleepy
stand-in sermonizing
gumbo lunch with friends
taco dinner with more friends
laughter on the way to work

summertime, summertime, summ summ summertime

new pjs
braves games
being there in a crisis
Sara's visitors
getting the apt more together
a few hours at the pool
random brother visits
penguin cam
candy canisters
pictures and art on the walls
baseball statues
lingering and kind of awesome cds
reading
rob & big -- minihorse!
new dresser and duvet
porch swing
CPE
new friends and transitions
getting a residency
adorable kids and fun stories
hallway bowling
Harry Potter new releases
movies
pedicures
dining room library
daisies

Culmination

some recent highlights, in no particular order:

* painting a bit, and the hopes of an easel and 'studio'
* porch swing!!!
* Jay Clifford's unique voice & haunting melodies in a tiny venue
* Shannon visiting, helping me move stuff, and grilling awesome burgers
* gaining new-to-me furniture, including a kickin' tv stand
* lots of live music in the past month (Decemberists, Patty Griffin, Jay Clifford)
* multiple bacon outings of late
* gathering and celebrating with friends
* hanging out in my living room
* John's interpretive dances and J's determination to balance on the back of the couch
* Howard Thurman urging the world to listen to the sound of the genuine
* exploring Images
* getting an A in Polity
* finishing a degree
* final advising with LTJ, wherein he laughed at me a lot
* closure with the Wesley community
* studying two theologians (Thurman, Bonhoeffer) over one semester, seeing intersections and distinctions, and finding a theology of encounter
* WTM retreat (which I dreaded but which was really good and fun and helpful)
* friends who will still be around
* knowing I don't have to leave this place yet
* approaching ends and beginnings, with all the weight and mixed emotion that entails