Summer

The summer went by so quickly: a few Michigan trips, a Chicago trip, a couple times taking my boat on the lake, some weddings, baseball games, movies outside, blueberry picking, a water park day, and summer is nearly over. It's been a good time. Good time with family and friends, good runs, good food, good cooking, new recipes, a successful half marathon and fun. I have heard over and over that it is important to be thankful. There is a lot to be thankful for for sure.

Dancing

There is not enough dancing in real life. Yesterday I went to a wedding and had a grand time being silly and dancing. So fun! And so freeing. Nobody has to be good at it, just do it. It seems to be that with dancing, I you are confident enough then you are good enough at it.

I always kind of wanted to be in one of the old musicals, singing in the rain or something similar. Twirly skirts and dancing around, count me in! Trouble with that idea is that I am not graceful. I dance for fun, not skill and grace, pity.

On the way to the wedding, my phone died. Whoa! We had one more turn on the directions.... It should have been easy. However, without the helpful blue dot guiding the way, we got a little list. First we thought we drove too far and missed the turn. So we stopped at a gas station but it was closed. We drove some more and stopped at another station. We were not far enough. So we drove on. And on. And some more. Then stopped a third gas station. The guy working looked the place up in the phone book. (a local paper phone book, super handy) i knew the address number and street name. (but was it Sudbury road or Old Sudbury road, not something i remembered) We had now missed the turn. Finally, we made it to the wedding. On time enough to do our proper usher duties!

Maps and travel

I am sitting on a plane heading Boston. Sounds like fun. And reminding me of my England trip. (the going somewhere and being on an airplane part)

When I was in England on a bus, the driver asked where I was from, I said Michigan. Not really true at the moment, but oh well, it would be the answer I would give someone if they asked while I was in Wisconsin. He asked, "Isn't Michigan by all the lakes?" Impresive geography. I wonder if you gave a British person a blank map of the states, would they be able to name the states? What if all the names were listed and it was a fill in the blank kind of a thing? How many Americans would be able to do that?

I have always loved maps. I find them fascinating and can stare for hours at them. We used to have a globe and I would pretend that I was going to go on a trip to wherever my finger landed after spinning the globe. And then I would spin it again and get a new place. And again. I have seen a lot of crafts online nowadays from maps. Maybe I just want a map of someplace for a wall of my apartment.

Why are maps so mesmerizing?

Summer is Coming

I love summer! I love flip flops, riding bikes, going on walks, sitting by the water, running in the warmth, and the feeling of the sunshine!

Summer is a time when the winter is really over and anything is possible. More people are outside on the bike paths and sitting in the outdoor seating areas of restaurants. Last Sunday, I got to ride my bike downtown and go out for breakfast sitting outside in the beautiful sunshine. Sipping coffee, enjoying food and company.... bliss.

We can get so caught up in life, in making grown up decisions and figuring out next steps. I think it's important (and can be difficult) to enjoy the moments on the way. To take time and reflect or just be. It's important to be grateful for all that is well in life. I know I have a lot to be thankful for!

End of Run Hello

Tonight I took a short run. At the end of the run, I was stretching a little bit out front of my house. I saw a young guy walking on the sidewalk towards me. He was not walking in a straight line, tired or drunk, or who knows. He became a pleasant surprise in my evening. As he walked by, here was the conversation:

Him: Have a fabulous, super evening. (I don't really remember the words there, something more like that, less like "have a good night." There was definitely a fabulous or fantastic involved.
Me: Thanks, you too.
Him: Stay safe.
Me: Thanks, you too.
Him: Have a good run.
Me: (didn't feel the need to tell him that I was done running) Thanks, have a good walk.
Him: Thanks, it'll be a long one. (he was half a block away by this point as he never stopped walking)

What a pleasant interaction. Hopefully he gets home safely and soon. I love those moments when you get to say hello to someone. And maybe you will never see them again. It doesn't matter. The power of a hello and the spread of some good cheer and well wishes.

Hope

Today's sermon was about hope. I liked it a lot. He talked about the difference between hope and optimism. Optimism is seeing the good side of things and seeing that things will get better. Hope seeing the goodness of the future even if there is nothing in the present that points towards it. Like in Isaiah 9:1-7. They still had to wait and could not see the good coming, but they could hope that it was coming. I am an optimistic person always but have never thought of hope in comparison.

Also, another neat quote about when when things are not going our way, "it doesn't mean that God is not faithful, it means that he is not predictable." He often doesn't do things in the way that we think he would or in the timing that we would like.

I know that I can be impatient and want to figure things in life out. Often, I do not get this luxury. In retrospect, I can see reasons for why things happened in the way that they did, or why an opportunity didn't work out, I can see what I learned through the experiences. However, you don't always get to see the why or when in the moment. That can be hard and that is why we need hope.

Being Festive

Now is the time of festivities. I even listened to Christmas music the other day while making ornaments out of cinnamon. They worked pretty well. A fun and easy project that my friend's 2 year old helped out with. (we made them in star shapes) And my house has 2 Christmas trees this year. My ceramic little one that my grandma gave me. It is awesome! And a large fake tree complete with lights and tinsel. I have already watched The Holiday and Love Actually. I have drank mulled wine. I have baked Gingersnaps and Christmas wreaths. Plus we are having a Christmas cookie party this weekend too. Tis the season.

Also, tis the season for Advent. 24-7 did great podcasts, one a day (minus Sundays) for Advent. It is great having a reminder each day, a verse to think about and a prayer focus.

Another Christmas tradition that I have fallen into in Madison is making a Christmas brunch. I enjoy this a lot, getting up in the morning and making food for people to come, eat and relax with. Plus it gives people who don't have family here (like me) a place to go in the morning. A lovely and relaxing tradition for me. (sad to miss out on time with my family though)

And it's about time to think of new year's resolutions. I wonder the percentage of people who make resolutions, how many of those take steps towards fulfilling them, and how many of those are successful in their aspirations. Last year, I resolved to drink less caffeine. I did it but should set about to drink less than the caffeine the I now consume. That was probably the first resolution that I have ever made, and I took steps towards meeting it, and did it. Success!