How to See the Sun Rise

(So, I logged in today with a totally different post on my mind, and found this unposted entry from last September, which means a twofer for today and TOTALLY makes up for the amount of time passed since my last entry.) Nelson and I celebrated our first anniversary this past week, September 6th. We both knew it was coming. We remembered. My mom texted us. Facebook shoved pictures and posts onto our timelines, recalling how much our worlds revolved around us for one day last year. Speaking of shoving pictures at people, here we are! The first anniversary is high stakes: it sets the bar for how you'll celebrate anniversaries the rest of your life. You want it to be special, to at least try to capture some thread of the elation you (maybe, hopefully) felt at the wedding. The idea is that, down the road, you might be too far into it - life, kids, work, monotony - to really feel celebratory, so you better take advantage of this SUPER-ALL-IMPORTANT first anniversary and make it

It's been 3 years since I've been here. If the virtual world collected dust, I imagine I'd need a broom for this space. I've thought about coming back often. With witty follow ups and gentle reproofs to my readers for not worrying more as to my fate following my hot yoga class. I really loved blogging. And I wanted to come back. But before I knew it, it had been a couple months - and I drifted away; like a relationship that ends without an actual break-up. And then it had been a year - and I felt like I'd failed. And then two passed - and I thought there's no way I can come back from that gracefully. And then it had been three - and I thought...maybe. And then it had been three years and one week - and the ashes had cooled enough to rise from them. Resurrection is a heady word. One that necessitates some sort of death. And so I choose caution. And excuses. And fear. I choose worrying about the judgement of others, and especially of myself. These are the thin

I have to leave in 45 minutes. In a half-assed attempt at poorly thought out New Year's resolutions, I signed up for a hot yoga class two weeks ago. I actually signed up for two, then I skipped it last week cause I didn't get up early enough. Oh yeah, the class is at noon. So that's my legacy so far this year, noon is too early to roll out of bed. Anyway, I skipped last week and if I skip again this week, they'll charge me $20. So I face a big decision - lazy or cheap? And cheap wins, so in 39 minutes I will be sitting in a 110 degree room, trying not to throw up or pass out. ( help me ) It's a good thing another resolution is not caring what others think of me. Along with wearing red lipstick and having some money once in a while and not being lazy. (As an aside. I wore red lipstick out last night, but I worried about what other people were thinking about me the whole time, so we'll call that a draw.) Also, sorry about that disastrous Fall Challenge.

It's almost comical how unreliable I am. Or perhaps it's gone way past that and on to the completely  other side, I have become reliably unreliable. Either way, my apologies. But it is still fall and I'm gonna do this dammit! So here are the next six: 4. BOOT SOCKS! I channeled fall through fashion today - a cream colored sweater, navy leggings, and brown boots (AND BOOT SOCKS!).   5. Fall cleaning! Definitely not one of my favorite things in the moment, but there's no better way to usher in a new season than by ushering out all the crap you've accumulated since the beginning of the last one. This was, of course, followed by a brower with a fall seasonal (because you have to get clean after you clean, and beer makes any shower better). 6. On Saturday, Mindy and I drove down to Fisher. It was hard not to notice fall, as it's hanging out all along Highway 57 South. Also, I bought Count Chocula and a black cat walked in front of us on our way home. 7.

Listen up. I'm about to make another public blog commitment that will most likely meet the same fate as fiction fridays. Drum roll please.   I've decided to be intentional about experiencing fall. I love fall. It always seems to move faster than the other seasons, and I usually end up missing it. For someone who's spent 21 of the last 28 falls going back to school, it has become a season of excitement and beginnings and backpacks. And pumpkins. And scary movies. And seasonal beers. And blankets, and football games, and soups and crunchy leaves and boot socks (for at least one more season). And so begins my commitment. Every day of October, and there's 31 of them, I will engage in an intentional celebration and acknowledgment of fall. I'm already three days behind. Which technically could be fall-ish, because that's kind of school-ish, which I've already stated is fall-ish. But that's lame. Here are the first three days. 1. Fall is football sea

(Disclaimer: This happened on Tuesday. If I were writing an entry on how to have a bad week then I would fill you in on why I'm just now getting to this...) Step 1: Tell a room full of wannabe preachers that there's a difference between prophesy and what they'll be doing for the rest of their lives. Now. I'm not saying there are no modern day prophets. But I am saying that the 20 people sitting in that classroom are in for a surprise if they think that's what they're going to school for. I really struggle with this. A lot. So much so that I said this out loud, in class, with other people in the room. And while 9 people immediately shot their hands up in the air to offer their own indignant defense, I filled 2 pages of my legal pad with frustrated stream of consciousness. Here's the deal. I grew up in the church. And I preach now (more like, give a speech every Sunday morning - since that's what it is). And I've seen what a church can do to a pasto