This place.
These people.
This season.
…has been one of the sweetest of my life. Brimming with joy and hope and celebration, each day has seemed it’s own gift. I’ve tried desperately to soak it all in, each day, each moment, with such intention. Like sitting quietly with a slice of Kozy Kitchen’s chocolate tres leches cake and a cappuccino, I’ve slowly savored each bite, hoping against hope that the next won’t be the last… Such is this season, perfectly sweet, tempered with the subtle bitterness of sheer humanity, making it just about as wonderful as I can imagine.
Reminiscing about the last year, my heart is full. So many moments, some sweeter and prettier than others, but all beautiful no matter how messy. More than anything else, it’s the people who’ve made it such. Without them these moments, this life, wouldn’t be nearly so rich and lovely, so full.
A few highlights…travelling and exploring together, NYC and New Jersey with Steven and Christine just after she found out she was pregnant with Luci Belle. (and spent most of the trip sick in bed ;-) The highest reaches of the Rocky Mountains with Tommy and Linda, where we watched in tears as he proposed on a mountainside, the setting sun his backdrop. Scouring out local farms and markets and festivals together, all of us, and making hour-long drives for the simple pleasure of a good grass-fed burger, gallon of raw milk, and reason to sing classic Garth Brooks at the top of our lungs. Savoring hours-long conversations with Erin via Skype while she’s studying in Australia, conversations full of hope and tears, brokenness, and unspeakable purpose and joy. And lots of giggling. Never-ending walks and talks with Linda, wrestling our issues and frustrations to the ground and smiling at each other in victory, knowing we’ll do it all over again tomorrow. Celebrating with Steven and Christine as they birthed a business, and a beautiful baby girl we all consider ours. Long prayers and tearful conversations with Kyle, confessions of betrayal, hurt, and failure, punctuated by redemption and transformation of both our hearts. Travelling all over the map with Shannon, speaking, praying, laughing together and at each other, breathlessly racing thru airports time and again. Thrifting and bulk trash day treasure hunting with my Mom, canning, picking veggies from the garden or berries and plums growing wild in open fields. Hiking remote mountain trails in 4-foot of snow with Tommy and Linda, where other hikers had snow-shoes and we had wet Uggs soaked to the bone. Constant three-part voicemails to and from Ivana, still refusing to accept that we live thousands of miles apart, going on 5 years now. Late-night conversations and visits with Aaron, neither of us ever walking away quite the way we arrived, always better. Driving cross-country to stand behind Kristen, a long-awaited redemption before my very eyes, remembering our adventures in Mexico, New York, Greece, living together, speaking and playing together, believing the entire way thru that this day would come. Walking down the isle to stand behind Linda, watching Josh tearfully wed she and Tommy, and then dancing so hard we were all sore for days. Sharing books, confessions, homes, holidays, long meals… We’ve picnicked, prayed together, yelled at each other, lounged in the sun. We’ve shared and talked and confessed and cried. We’ve had adventures and celebrations, dinner parties, store openings, big promotions, sleepless nights, new beginnings. We’ve cooked together more than we can remember, made fun of each other, challenged, pushed, believed in, inspired, encouraged, and refused to give up on each other.
But more than anything, we’ve loved each other well. Not always perfectly, but WELL.
These people, this place, this life…well, it’s meant to savored. And I intend to relish every last bite and scattered crumb, and then unapologetically lick the plate clean. Yes...it really is THAT good.