8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1: The Rest, Rather Belatedly
Like most things, this little countdown did not work out exactly as I had planned. Over the course of these past three weeks since my birthday I’ve thought many a time about finishing it or perhaps just abandoning it altogether. Better late than never though, right?
8: College Summers
Yesterday afternoon, listening to my brother talk about his upcoming plan to do summer staff at Saranac Village caused me to wax nostalgic about my summer as a baker at Crooked Creek. For two months I spent the bulk of my day with the Hobart, breaking every afternoon for prayer and popsicles. Best job ever. Two years later I perfected my tan and attempted to hone my French on the beaches of Cannes. I only wish I made it a point to study abroad longer. After college I did the requisite backpack through Europe. Three weeks winding from Madrid to Barcelona through the French Rivera over to Milan and Lake Como and Venice and Florence and Rome, with a brief stopover to take a photo propping up the Leaning Tower of Pisa, enjoying the paintings and sculptures and food and wine every step along the way. Yes. I am quite grateful for those summers.
7: Amazing Women
My grandma
My mom
My sister
My aunts
Friends, past and present
The women refugees I met during my internship
The women refugees Ben & I taught
The work of women I admire from afar
Great authors and bloggers and people putting their stuff out there
Many, many more that are not on this list but I have yet to meet…
6: Really Good Classes
Thankfully there are too many to name. I am particularly grateful for the third grade teacher that fueled my love of writing…my junior year English class in high school and freshman English course in college…for the history course I took my final year at UT…for every single art class along the way…and for some particularly wonderful courses during graduate school.
5: Really Good Books
Ramona
Hank the Cowdog
Little House on the Prairie
Anne of Green Gables
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
Catch-22
Me Talk Pretty One Day
The Brothers Karamasov
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Pedagogy of the Oppressed
From Beirut to Jerusalem
The Bible
And oh so many more…
4: Rwanda
Our ten months in Rwanda were nothing like I expected, and I will be forever grateful for that.
3: Leila
I already shared my gratitude for her birth and motherhood, but I am also incredibly grateful for the Leila’s unique life and personality and the ability to witness it unfold!
2: Benjamin
He is not the perfect husband or the perfect father, but he is the perfect husband for me, and the perfect father for Leila (and Wrigley and any future munchkins). As much as I say I question the existence of the romantic genre two souls fated for each other plotline, every day I spend with Ben makes me wonder if we might just fit that mold.
1: Another year
I absolutely cannot wait to see what this year will bring!
