full up with delight

driving through mountains and mountains, dinner by a creek, sweet sleep in the quiet magic attic, southern starbucks baristas, driving up the parkway and watching hawks soar over the valley, snakes sunning themselves on pavement, rhododendron explosions, washing my feet in a mountain stream, gigantic butterflies flitting around too quickly for a shutter to fly, laughing with my fam, bubblecakes and chillypops, walking for charity, bobby's garden, a couple of hours with my grandparents, and coming home to another gourmet dinner by meredith.

BACKLOG

digging in dirt, planting tender tomato starts and imagining this summer's dinner table overflowing with home-grown produce from my own backyard, gardening wisdom from Bobby, discovering strawberry patches just down the road from my suburban street, sweet sun-drenched berry taste, a morning by the Occoquan with Meredith, creek-stomping and trail walking, talking god and life over a pancake griddle early on a sunday morning, my youth speaking articulately and eloquently and emotionally about how this church has shaped their faith and their future, the sometimes stridently uber-liberal congregant leaning forward from the second row to encourage the youth struggling to admit he's joining the coast guard that yes he could finish his sermon and yes we still love him a lot, bvs stories from 1950s germany and greece, vera and harley's orchids and stories and hospitality, tzatziki with becky, hearing the deep longings of teenage hearts expressed in play-dough and post-its and scrabble tiles, laughing with my co-workers, the usual cast of characters gosspping and cackling through the building, witnessing airport reunions, the peggy+don relationship on mad men, a bed into which i can collapse after a long late journey, good work with good people, and coming home to a church filled with firefighters...and their biceps.

holy week

eating together in houses hemmed into homes, sara pugh exuding happiness and seeming centered, unexpected and unexplained moments of grace, prayer writing, washing the feet of a curious 7th grader, having my feet washed by a tentative 6th grader, the unending richness of the love feast and getting to practice it here in this new place, having houseguests, stories from BVS, sara belt's pleasure at being home, episcopal preaching, mom in my driveway, planting cheerful flowers and hanging sharp looking curtains, katerina's pastitsio and tzatziki, coffee and crosswords in the morning, target shopping sprees, nachos with queso, he qi on the bulletins, working together in the church kitchen, gilmores, the intensity of the triduum, waking up singing up from the grave he arose, eating and laughing and celebrating and worshipping with a church family - the same church family who washed my feet on Thursday and called me and welcomed me and is pushing me to learn and live fuller and with lots more integrity - and the JOY of easter morning - joy with potential to fuel far-reaching faithfulness.

home for a hot minute

driving through the blue ridge, hugs from my mom, the parents' back porch, laughing with my dad, sleeping in the attic, mountain breezes, the air being filled with birdsong instead of traffic, jojo's smile, bobby's accent, mill mountain coffee, beer with my sister, and sweet SW virginia.

alligators and easter eggs

a spring morning spent stuffing easter eggs, summer sausage, the plant in my office window growing fast as a weed, laughing with seventh graders, Karen Russell's Swamplandia! and jlm's three decades of life.

mockingjay

responsible mornings filled with paying taxes and buying band-aids and fitting a bike helmet, diving into new novels, and getting to see the hunger games with people as excited about it as me.

battle of bull run

the felt freedom of an entire 24 hours without commitment, a clean kitchen, a walk through the woods, the weird juxtaposition of a battlefield turned sacred ground, feeling like a kid at the prospect of a new (to me) bike, peanut butter banana smoothies, spoken word, and allergy drugs.

there isn't anyone out there who isn't Seymour's fat lady

pear trees in bloom, daffodils lifting their sunny faces, a much-needed slow office day, welty's existential courage, salinger's religion, and rest.

remember, rejoice, repeat

remember again that the mountains really are just 20 short minutes away, roadtripping with youth singing in full voice, hugs from friends, early morning bible study and the people who wake up early to make it, nostalgia, the energy of college kids, seeing old friends and making a bunch of new ones, watching my youth be front row instigators, good brethren preaching, and reminders of what it is I hoped this would be.