I'm Awesome at Life (Or Life is Awesome and I'm Arrogant)

Remember how I used to write on my blog all the time?  As in every, single day?  (Reference: January 2009.)

And then remember when I still wrote on my blog pretty often?  Like every other day?  (Reference: July 2009.)

And then remember when I wrote on my blog about once a week?  (Reference: 2010-2011.)

And then remember how I haven't written on my blog since April?  (Reference: now.)

Here's the thing:  I love to write.  It's where I do my best processing.  Especially on my blog.  Because I journal, too, but that ends up just being a huge wallowing mess of self-pity.  The social pressure keeps my blog from being that, so rather than a place I can complain, it's a place where I can take stock of my life.  A place where I can talk about things I love, things that make me laugh, things that bring me joy.

And mid-twenties, I was desparate for that place.  I wanted and needed to put my life out there and to have someone else validate it because I wasn't quite sure where I was headed.  And I needed people to tell me that was alright.

But I don't write on my blog very often anymore.  And I'm pretty sure that's because I've finally gotten to a place in my life where I can say, this is it.  This is who I am.  This is what I want my life to look like: I want to be busy, I want to love, I want to know and be known, I want to care for and about other people, I want to work at a job that is purposeful and fulfilling, I want to spend my life.  This is me.

I'm settled.  And rooted.  And committed to this job and this place and this life.

And it's pretty sweet.  I could keep blogging about that, but honestly, it would bore me and it would bore you, too. 

So, just know this:  I am happy.  And busy.  And joyful.  And life still gets really hard sometimes, but I am content.

And all that fear that I had, that my life would mean nothing and that settled meant settling, it's gone away.  Because life is still a crazy adventure and I have no idea what's coming next.

But I know what I'll be like when it does.  And I know that I'll write about it on my blog.  :)

Song of the Day: I Can't Make You Love Me/Nick of Time by Bon Iver (cover of Bonnie Raitt)

This is Contentment

Dear Friends,

I'm in Boston. With my brother.

It has been epic in so many ways. I will be bringing a recap post very soon, although I'm not sure I can encompass the joy of both a big city and sibling shenanigans in words.

Sneak preview: public tranist, good Indian food, abundant coffee shops, beautiful fall weather, freedom trail tours, and play-instantly PBS miniseries on Netflix.

It's going to take all the willpower I have to make myself return to Willy and snow tomorrow.

Song of the Day: Skin and Bones by David J. Roch

Accidental Habits

Houses in Northern Arizona don't have air conditioning.

It's weird to me because I grew up in humid Mid-Missouri, where we would get concerned that old people would die in the summer if they didn't have air conditioning. Seriously, we had fan drives we were so concerned.

But we don't really need it in NorAZ. It's beautiful all summer long. As long as you can open your windows, you're set.

Unfortunately for me, I don't have any windows in my room. I have beautiful french doors that open onto my deck, but no windows. And if I leave the doors open, I get giant bugs that fly into my face while I'm trying to sleep. Not cool, bugs.

So I developed a new habit this summer. Every night, I would go into my room and open up my doors. I would then get ready for bed, make sure my ceiling fan and my humidifier were on and then I would step out onto my deck and curl up into my adirondack chairs.

My theory was that if I could just get cool, then I could go back in and go to sleep comfortably. And it's cool out in NorAZ on summer nights. So it worked. I would sit out there for 15 minutes and go back in my room kind of chilly.

Problem solved.

But something else happened, too. Because my life is crazy. And I feel like I go, go, go all day every day.

But every night I had 15 minutes to sit out under the stars. Sometimes I would read articles on my iPhone news apps. Sometimes I would listen to music. But most of the time I would just sit quietly. And look at the ridiculously beautiful stars. And think about nothing.

It's pretty cold at night now, but I still go out there anyway. Because it turns out I need that time to just sit and be still. To shiver in the cold and realize that the world is bigger than me and my busy-ness. To be quiet. To look at the stars.

NorAZ doesn't have air conditioning. And it turns out that's really good for me.

Song of the Day: The Show by Lenka, performed by 12-year-old Kerris Dorsey

So Long Sweet Summer (Once Again)

This week marked the unofficial end of our summer season here at Lost Canyon.

Praise the Lord: it's over.

Praise the Lord: it was good.

Here's the thing about sticking something out for more than a year: it gets easier. Because you figure out what you're doing. And you do the same thing again, but better.

It's pretty great.

And I don't remotely know how to recap it all for you, so I'll just caption some pictures that pretty much say it all.

First Session: Life is awesome and YL summer is in full gear. My job includes teaching the high school girls in the picture below how to clean things and dressing up with them in ridiculous costumes in order to make cleaning things fun. I'm in the parrot costume.

The weather is like this, pretty much always. Except ignore those clouds because they don't really happen here.

Once a week, there's a cabin clean-up competition and we award a prize to the cleanest cabin. Bribes are allowed. The bribes consist of pretty much this amount of candy every week.

Session Two: We got a little tired. This is Susie, Debbie, and Abigail (left to right) at the session start meeting. My instruction for this photo was "accurately represent how you feel about the fact that Session Two starts right now." I'm going to let you guess which two people in this picture work for me and which one works in the kitchen.

I did find some time to relax. When I did, it consisted of this:

4th of July: Capernaum (YL for kids with special needs) Week at Lost Canyon. We had a parade. It was awesome. See this post for video.

I also went to the Williams Parade. Which featured Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam. I love this town.

Also there: this cute baby. Whom I love.

And this one, who was really focused on his snow cone. And whom I also love. (This is before he ditched us to sit by himself on a curb.)

This summer was so awesome that I actually got to take a week off from working at Young Life camp to... take kids to Young Life camp! Yep, I got to hang out with these kids for a week at Woodleaf. They're real fun.

I spent the week laughing a lot like this:

And getting caked in head-to-toe mud like this:

And swinging in trees like this (yes, I'm a grown-up):

After that awesome week, I came back to work where I sometimes find things like this drawn on the bottom of Lost and Found shoes. High school kids are funny (and inappropriate).

And now summer has ended, so I get to do things like play in giant birthday softball games with my friends. Again, awesome.

So basically, I spent my summer hanging out with high school kids. And acting like a high school kid. And being awesome.

Such is my life.

I Can't Stop Being Sappy.

I'm sitting in my office right now. And I have a rare moment of down time. Everybody's doing what they're supposed to be doing and they don't need me.

That's awesome...

And it lasted exactly as long as it took me to type those 4 sentences. As I was typing awesome, one of my Laundry girls yelled upstairs to ask me a question followed by 2 radio calls and a camper asking for beach towels.

I love my life.

Here's what's happening in HK-world right now: I'm in my office drinking what's left of my watered-down Americano and listening to the Britney Spears blasting through the speakers downstairs. My Laundry girls are folding towels and there's 4 servers in here folding kitchen linens and playing some really loud game that I don't understand. I just got back from checking on my tawashies, who are cleaning dorm rooms. To get to them, I had to walk through Cabin Games, where 430 leaders and campers are dressed in ridiculous outfits and running all over camp doing ridiculous things. I could see Susie and Abigail in the middle of chaos, showing our girls how to make mop water and asking them questions about who they are and where they're from.

Again, I love my life.

Even though it might be a little odd.

An example of how odd it can be: yesterday I came home and our Sites and Facilities Superintendent was in our driveway, attempting to break into my roommate's car while dressed in a full-on old western cowboy outfit. You see, Susie had locked her keys in her car and asked Jim to try to break into it. So he stopped by after he was done performing in the daily western shoot-out show that takes place in downtown Williams.

Seriously, I love my life.

At exactly this time 2 years ago, if you had told me I would be living in Williams, AZ, I would've laughed at you. I was loving living in Kansas City. I was near my friends and I was determined to find a job, to start a career that would look impressive.

And then I ended up here. Impressive, it is not. I'm not living the life I thought I was going to live. But I laugh so hard it hurts every single day. I drive two blocks out of the way to avoid the tourists gathered for the shoot-out show. I hang out with high school kids who think it's impossible to go to college or to reach for the life they want, and I tell them that they can. I live with some really impressive women who push me and encourage me and know me.

I love my life.

And even though this isn't where I thought I would end up, I'm probably not going anywhere anytime soon.

And I feel great about that.

Song of the Day: My Boy Builds Coffins by Florence + the Machine

Parades are Awesome.

So Young Life has this ministry called Capernaum.

It's Young Life. For kids with special needs.

And they do a week of camp at Lost Canyon.

It is possibly the best thing ever.

I don't think I can do it justice, so I'm just going to put the 3 videos I shot of the parade we had here at camp on 4th of July. Each area got to make their own banner and march in the parade. The videos are a little long and I'm kind of obnoxiously yelling in them (shocking), but I encourage you to watch them anyway. It's worth it.

(Oh, and don't worry. We were at the very beginning of the route. There was way more people along the way. It wasn't lame, I promise.)

And a short bonus video. Of the Party in the USA dance party that broke out post-parade. So great.

Love Letter

Hi, Internet. It's me, your friend Kate. I know we haven't talked for a while, but if you're my actual friend and not just someone who creeps me on the internet, then you know that this is pretty typical for me.

1) I am not a very good communicator ever. I get pretty wrapped up in my own little self-centered Kate-world. (At least I admit it, right?)

2) I work at camp. So from Mid-May to August, I actually do live in my own little self-centered Kate-world called Lost Canyon.

It's true. Camp is it's own little solar system, revolving around meals and program events, and it is pretty easy to forget that the outside world even exists. Or to even really care that the outside world exists because this little world is just so freaking awesome.

And hard.

And life-giving.

And exhausting.

And really, really beautiful.

There is a lot going on at camp, always. It's 10 weeks of 100% craziness. Of running and working and investing in people. And it's my job to care for people: My little department who always need and deserve my encouragement and guidance. My Work Crew Boss who has no idea what's happening but who has huge responsibility in my department. My Work Crew Girls who came here with the expectation that they are going to grow and laugh and learn. My Laundry Summer Staff , college kids who are looking for anyone older than them to tell them it's OK to hope and dream and be scared about all of that. Campers who have never had someone care enough about them to clean their toilets for them every day and smile and say yes when they ask to have their laundry washed. A-Team who have prepped for months so that they can make their session amazing and life-changing. My Young Life Girls who will not be forgotten for months out of my life, who show up at my work because their lives are crazy and they know it's a safe place. My Young Life Leaders, more college kids with too much time to think, who need me to just call or text and stay connected.

Yeah, that's a long paragraph. And that's just the people in my immediate little world here. That doesn't include all the people I should care for because I love them a lot. You know, my family and my friends, people who take care of me all the time.

So, while this was going to be a funny post about how weird camp-world is, I'm instead going to turn it into a love letter to all those people. The ones who care for me enough that they let me be a jerk for months at a time. The ones who love that I love my job, my life, my career. The ones who take joy in the fact that they don't hear from me because it means that I'm busy and happy and spending my life on all these people around me.

Thank you for loving me that much. Thank you for taking me back in September without guilt-tripping me about my absence. Thank you for being there as a back-bone of support, always. Thank you for looking at me being far away as a chance to travel more to come visit. Thank you for not telling me I need to get a real job (even if you think it).

Thank you for being you. And letting me be me. I am one lucky girl.

Song of the Day: Stupid by Sarah McLachlan (Not sure about the medieval theme of this video but I have a never-ending love for some Sarah McLachlan and they just used this song on SYTYCD. So I've been listening to it kind of non-stop. Enjoy.)

I Forget Things but I'm a Good Sharer

About 3 times a week, I open up the notes on my iPhone and I write down ideas for future blog posts. They are normally really great ideas and would be either deeply moving or riotously hilarious.

Unfortunately for us all, by the time I actually go to write the posts, I have literally no idea what my notes mean. I'm not sure what this says about me, but it can't be good. It's enough of a problem that I even think about it when I'm making the notes now and try to add more detail. Doesn't help.

But looking at my notes from last week, I came across this sentence:

I just found something beautiful stuck on a crowded plane in Miami...

And that note made me smile. Because, true to form, I don't remember what that something beautiful was. (Could I have been more vague?) But I do remember the feeling.

The feeling of being in a place that I should have been frustrated in. An overly-warm, overly-crowded plane stuck on a tarmack in Miami. Waiting to start a 5-hour flight west. Tired and a little sad to be leaving my vacation behind.

I should've been mad.

But I found something beautiful instead. I had a moment where I saw how funny and sweet and just plain pretty life is. I looked at the people around me and didn't see weary travelers, but fellow humans.

It was important enough that I wrote it down so I would share it with you.

And then promptly forgot it.

So now I write it down again. Because even though I don't remember what I saw or why I thought it was so beautiful, I do remember that I wanted to share joy, hope, love, and peace.

And that can't ever be a bad thing.

Song of the Day: Santeria by Sublime (This came up on shuffle today and I found myself singing very loudly along with every single word. It's a classic.)

Busy Bee

Current Sustaining Life Forces: coffee, good music, my journal, really great friends.

I am happy.

Busy and happy.

And there's no end in sight...

Song(s) of the Day: NPR Tiny Desk Series by The Tallest Man on Earth

My Life is Fun... And Busy

For the next week, on any given day between the hours of 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM, I have approximately 10 hours total that I'm not scheduled to be somewhere or doing something specific.

So, if anyone wants to hang out, I have Sunday before 2:00 free.

That's it.

I really love my life.

Song of the Day: Firework by Katy Perry (Because it's awesome. And who doesn't want to shoot fireworks out of their chest?)

Cuteness and F Words... Story of My Life

So, I'm 3 episodes behind on the Bachelor. I know, I know. So sad.

But that does mean that I'm going to get to have a Bachelor marathon. And then create a marathon post. I'm pumped. And you should be too.

I went to Tucson this weekend and it was awesome. Mainly because it was 78 degrees. And I got to hang out with my bestie Kristen.

Also, my friend Dusty sent me this picture of his really cute baby with the following caption:

He likes to sleep all day, just like Auntie Kate. If only she would come to nap with him. :(

Yeah, way to make me both squeal out loud with the sheer cuteness and guilt trip me about not getting to meet him yet. So I will be spending a portion of my day finding cheap flights to Walla Walla, WA. Because I must. Hold. That. BABY!

Seriously, I need to hold him. And baby talk to him. It has to happen.

Also, I really like having friends that put their babies in weird poses and then send me pictures. What's the point of having a baby if you don't do stuff like that?

Alright, this post was kind of about nothing. Enjoy it anyway.

Cheers!

Song of the Day: Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons (Disclaimer: There are f words in this song. Deal with it.)

Recap

It's been almost a month since I've written on my blog. Sometimes I go a month without writing on my blog but that's normally because my life is kind of boring.

Not so, this time!

My life is FUN!

(Seriously, it is.)

And since I will never be able to write all the posts that in the past month I've thought, "This should be a post!," I will instead just make a list of all the fun things that have happened in my life in the last month.

1) Work Trip to the WFR.

I love my job. And I love other people who have the same job as me in a different place and love it too. Because we have a relatively small staff for the kind of work that we do, it often feels like nobody really knows what you do day to day. So it's really fun and encouraging to sit down across from people who do know what you do because they do it to. We talked HK and laughed a lot. Enough said.

2) Friendsgiving!

Every year on Thanksgiving, we have a big dinner for anyone who is away from family. This was especially fun this year. We started in the morning with cinnamon rolls and the parade, followed by a delicious Thanksgiving dinner (for which I baked 4 desserts), followed by a marathon of Friends Thanksgiving episodes, and finished things off with the hanger-arounders drinking wine in our sweet hot tub. And the next day Debbie, Susie, and I went to the movies and saw Harry Potter (and two other movies that we snuck into afterwards... Don't tell on us). Seriously awesome holiday.

3) Williams Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting!

Incredible.

Here's a picture of Santa:

Here's video of the children singing a song about cowboys at Christmas:

And here's some video where the mayor of Williams yelled at me and then lit the tree. (I promise I was not heckling him. I would never.):



As you can see, it was quite the event. I love my little town. (Let's just say, there was more video. I spared you my commentary.)

4) Elf

We watched Elf after the Christmas Parade. Then we watched Elf with our YL kids. Then we watched it at home. I love Buddy.

5) Lost Canyon Christmas Party

The Lost Canyon Christmas Party was held at the Winchester Steakhouse here in Williams. There was a country legends cover band involved. I don't think I need to say anything else.

Jen loved it.
6) The Sing-Off

My roomies and I love, repeat LOVE, this show. Committed is my favorite.

7) No snow!

It hasn't been snowing! In fact, it was 64 degrees here yesterday. I have been in a constant good mood because of this. See, now I'll be able to handle snow when it does come because it won't mean 5 months of non-stop snow. Hopefully.

Yeah, so obviously a lot has been happening. I love this time of year because it always equals a whole lot of hanging out and parties and gatherings and more hanging out. There's really nothing that makes my heart happier.

Can't wait to head home next week for a solid week and a half in MO. It is much needed and I'm really looking forward to catching up with everybody. If you'll be there, pencil me into your schedule because I probably want to see you!

Much love!

Song of the Day: Poison and Wine by the Civil Wars

I Was Wrong, I Was Very, Very Wrong

Remember when I said I fly out of Phoenix on Thursday morning?

Yeah, turns out I don't.

I fly out tomorrow morning.

So, that's fun. I lost a whole day. And, that means that I get to drive to PHX after Campaigners tonight so that I can get there really late and get up super early in the morning to catch my 7:30 AM flight to Oregon.

Just making it to Thanksgiving, people.

But the mega-plus in this situation is that my work trip is to the Washington Family Ranch, aka Wildhorse, aka the Canyon, my alma mater and one of my altogether favorite places on earth.

So, that doesn't suck. Nope, it doesn't suck at all.

You know what else doesn't suck? The awesome amount of fun I had with 30 of my closest high school friends and the leaders on my team at Weekend Camp this weekend.

We did stuff like this:

And this:

And hung out with this guy in a bear suit:

While the boys mainly did this (What's up, Ladies?):

And the other female leaders and I mainly did this (yes, I'm wearing a heart-shaped sign that says "Hand Check."):

And my bestie Kristen was here. There's no picture of that, but she was and it was fun.

I seriously love me some Williams kids. They are crazy and fun and crazy fun.

Also, I'm really tired. And cough-y because it's freezing cold here and I yelled really loudly all weekend.

Oh, and the Williams Thanksgiving Dinner was awesome. There were like 400 people here which is almost 1/6 the population of Williams. And most of them were church ladies. And they did a mash-up of Jesus Loves You and What I Like About You.

These are my people.

OK, I'm going to go do the 900 millionty things I need to do before I leave in 5 hours.

Yikes.

Song of the Day: Best for the Best by Josh Ritter (There's something about this song that feels good in the Fall. I think it's the guitar.)

Fear Not, I'm Still Here

Remember when I used to blog?

Yeah, those were the days.

(See January of 2009 to know what I'm talking about. 32 posts in one month? I want that life back.)

In other news, it snowed here yesterday.

Yes, snow.

Already.

Here's proof:

OK, now I know that's not a lot of snow so I can't really start whining about it yet, but it's too soon! People are still being grouchy when I play Christmas music (which is everyday). It can't snow yet.

I'm still holding out hope that it will be a mild winter. Mainly because my new house has a wicked steep driveway and I needed new tires a year ago. So, let's all just keep our fingers crossed that that situation works out alright.

Lastly, I'm going to list what all is happening in my life in the next 2 weeks so you can appreciate how crazy my life feels right now:

Today: work, run home to make something delicious (undecided as to what), take deliciousness (not a nickname for myself) to family dinner, laundry MUST happen

Tomorrow: work, meet with some peeps, women's bible study/wine drinking extravanganza

Friday: morning fundraising work project with kids, get some coffee, spend a couple hours trying to get our paperwork/my life together, meet with team, go to weekend camp, yell at kids when I want to go to bed at midnight and they're too amped on soda and pizza to be quiet

Saturday: super packed day of high school weekend camp craziness, more sugar for the kids, lots of coffee for me

Sunday: coffee, weekend camp ends, get kids home, more coffee, back to camp to help at the yearly Williams Community Thanksgiving Dinner, mingle with my town folk

Monday: work, still more coffee, go to awesome albeit still unplanned post-camp-because-we're-too-tired-to-plan-club event with kids and team

Tuesday: work, start campaigners, inject coffee directly into my veins, laundry/packing

Wednesday: work, drive to PHX, stop at first Starbucks I see on highway

Thursday: Fly to Central Oregon, get pumped for some HK training/awesome work trip, realize that I left something really important to said trip in Williams (this is inevitable)

Friday: continue work trip, also continue coffee injections

Saturday: same

Sunday: get up at 3:30 AM (goo) to catch my 5:30 flight, drive to Flag for team meeting, drive to Williams, not a chance of unpacking, prep for short week of work before Thanksgiving

There it is.

My life makes me tired. And happy.

Song of the Day: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel by Sufjan Stevens (It's time, people.)

Sometimes I Look Forward to Saturday on Tuesday Even Though I Love My Job

Hey everybody!

I'm really tired! Like, really, really tired.

But it's completely my fault because I've been doing things like taking weekend trips to Vegas and moving into my sweet new digs.

So I can't really complain because everything I've been doing is fun. But still, I just want to make sure you know, I'm really tired.

However, I am also very happy. And, if you know me, I think you know why.

That's right, it's Fall!!! My absolute most favorite season ever!

I'll list why:

1) The wardrobe. It's a little cold so I get to wear my sweaters and my jackets and all of my scarves. (I love scarves.)

2) The colors. I'm not in Missouri, so I'm sorely missing the beauty that is the trees in the fall, but we do have aspens here in NorAZ. And they are beautiful. They're yellow and the leaves are fluttery and it's sort of magical. So I'm still happy.

3) Pumpkin-flavored food and drink. Pumpkin spice lattes! Pumpkin cookies! Pumpkin cheesecake! Pumpkin baked ziti! These are some of my favorite foods and it is perfectly acceptable to make them all the time.

4) Football. I love college football. Especially when my Tigers start the season 6-0, get a ranking of #11, and have College Game Day broadcast from CoMO.

5) The beginning of Christmas. I don't care if you hate this, I'm easing into Christmas now. I have started occasionally quoting Elf and listening to Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong album. Not all the time yet, but it's happening and I love it.

All of these things are wonderful. Add them all together and you have me looking forward to waking up on Saturday, baking some pumpkin cinnamon rolls, watching Game Day, taking a long drive in a sweater and scarf to pick up a pumpkin spice latte which I will drink on my deck while listening to Christmas music and enjoying the trees, and ending the day by watching my Tigers beat Oklahoma and hopefully playing some games with my friends.

It is going to be the best day ever. Believe it.

Song of the Day: Romeo and Juliet by Matt Nathanson (Dire Straits cover)

I Left Williams (and Now I'm Back)

You know what I love?

Vacation.

You know what I hate?

Complete disregard for punctuation.

I had a seriously awesome time in Seattle with Dusty and Sara doing things such as helping them register for their baby, drinking lots of coffee, wandering around Pike's Place Market, and watching a lot of college football. If that's not a great vacation, I don't know what is.

And now it's Fall! Life is good.

Song of the Day: Worn Out Shoes by Joe Purdy.

Dignity, Shmignity

Guess what I found out the other day...

Some people have friends, whom they really enjoy, that are not loud and crazy and completely ridiculous.

I know, right? Who knew?

On Thursday at work, my friend Shea asked me if I wanted to go to a wine tasting party with her on Friday. And it was definitely one of those asks that was a "please go with me to this thing because I already said I would go but I'm a little worried that it might be awkward."

I like meeting new people, so I agreed.

So we went. There were about 10 ladies there, all mid-20s to mid-30s. A couple brought their babies, everyone brought a potluck dish and some wine.

And it was very pleasant. And we chit-chatted and a couple people made some jokes. And they were all very sweet and engaged and great to be around. I had a good time.

But as we were walking out, I realized that I had just spent a rare (in my life) evening with people that did not include any of the following:

1) An extremely loud telling of a time that someone ridiculously embarrassed themself.

2) Slightly vulgar and definitely inappropriate jokes.

3) Laughing so hard that I cried/peed a little/snorted.

4) Someone telling a story of the one time when they jumped off a two-story building unscathed because someone dared them, climbed some unclimbable mountain, or biked across the country.

5) Brainstorming about starting a grassroots company that will take over the world or how to build houses in Nicaragua using native mud and string.

6) Someone talking in a fake accent, singing loudly, or befriending random passers-by.

7) Again, laughing so hard that I cried/peed a little/snorted.

Seriously, I don't know how I got so lucky, but I ended up with a whole lot of people in my life who live a whole lot of life. And bring me along on it.

We may be loud and crazy, but we're for sure not boring.

Song of the Day: Cooler than Me by Mike Posner (OK, we don't have good radio stations in Williams. So I listen to Top 40. And I'm 25. Don't judge me.)

One of Those Days

You know when you wake up at noon because the sun is shining directly on your face and you have nowhere to be and nothing pressing to do?

And you slept until noon because you stayed out late last night drinking wine and eating good food and laughing a lot with all the women who ridiculously bless your day-to-day life?

And then you check facebook and several people have written on your wall and sent you messages, people who ridiculously bless your life even though they're not in your day-to-day?

And then you eat pancakes that your roommate made from scratch and make yourself an iced chai with vanilla almond milk and it's really, really good?

And you have new books to read and it's sunny and beautiful outside?

Yeah, those days are the best.

Song of the Day: Addicted to Love by Florence + the Machine

I Giggled

Youtube and the National Spelling Bee: two things that make me really happy.

Wait, What? It's Over?

Ok.

Summer's over.

Seriously. The last campers left Friday, A-Team/WC/SS left yesterday, and our first off season group rolled in last night.

I'm off today. On a Sunday.

I'm not going to lie, as the WC shuttle bus pulled out, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I'm exhausted. And I'm excited for life to return to normal. I'm excited to actually get to have time to see my friends and have the energy to want to hang out with them when I do have the time.

I'm excited to have weekends and take some vacation. I'm excited to actually get off work at 5:00ish.

But it's always bittersweet. I'm a little disoriented. You see, I'm made for summer. I love it. Even when I wanted to cry, even when I wasn't sure I could make it through it, I loved it. Because you look around at these kids and it's worth it. You love them and you don't know them. But how could you not? If someone else loves them so much, how could you not love them too?

There are a million things I wish I had done better, there are a million times I wish I had gone one extra step, I wouldn't paint this summer as a rousing success from the perspective of my personal goals. But it happened. And it was good. And the good that came out of it is beyond the measure of success or not. And I got to be a part of it.

So, one off season down, one summer down, almost a whole year, and I'm feeling content for maybe the first time since I've been here. I'm ready to tackle it all again, and do it better and go farther. The adventure continues.

How does life get so good? I hope you're feeling this way too.

Much love.

Song of the Day: I Never Told You by Colbie Caillat