12 hour shifts

sound terrible.

A letter to Caleigh. While I was complaining about a stuffy nose and shuffling around with lotion kleenex she was suffering through an excessively long 12 hour work day.

Colds

I am a total baby when it comes to having a cold. I can take surgeries and flare ups and doctors and needles, but when it comes to a runny nose and a sore throat I complain and am miserable to be around. I’m fully aware of this not-so-attractive aspect of myself.

A letter to Susie. I promise I washed my hands before I touched it.

Gala

I’ve got this gala thing coming up. Something to dress up for and look as good as I can manage.

Betsy is coming with me to the gala and making me far more excited about being all fancy. She makes fancy sound fun.

Visits

I hope for visits from friends.

I hope for those drives full of expectations of good talks and secrets and catching up.

I hope Jen can get the time off to come out and party.

The Best Thing Ever.

All year I look forward to February. Oscar season.

In January I write the day of Oscar nomination announcements on my calendar and watch the live stream online.

The best part is this. Two Saturdays of near-constant movies in a theater filled with people who are just as excited as I am. They come with blankets and pillows and snacks and I am usually first (or almost first) in line but am soon joined by a few who will brave the cold February morning for that one seat to claim.

Everyone is so there. So much in the room. Strangers bond over their popcorn. You start to recognize faces from year to year and it is just absolutely epic and my favorite thing.

If you want to see the epitome of me-ness, you should come to this.

A letter to Katie, who is willing to drive five hours two weekends in a row with her husband to see these with me and celebrate Oscar season in style and awesomeness.

Words of Love

To Caleigh I send words of love.

I read this article today and I’m constantly amazed by the lack of real mail in the world. I see these articles all the time and it’s crazy to me. It’s so easy to write down words and put a stamp on them and send them through the mail and it feels so miraculous to open up the mailbox to find some unexpected joy.

When I was little I used to collect stamps. It occurs to me now that this generation doesn’t really have that option. That’s kind of crazy.

So a letter to Caleigh, and a challenge for you to write words of love to someone else.

Depth

There are people in the world that I absolutely adore but who we never talk about anything with depth. We will talk about the newest movie or that cute actor or what we did over the weekend.

But there are other people that can discuss all this and more. They can speak about important things. They listen and their words contain wisdom. I’m blessed to have many of these people in my life.

Here’s a letter to someone pretty awesome. Enjoy, Scott!

Stationary

I posted a while back that I was out of stationary. Emergency! How can I write? I ran to Target and spent too much money on paper and envelopes.

Yesterday I came home to a brown paper package tied up with plenty of scotch tape full of stationary and a note that read: Don’t let it happen again!

So a letter to the woman who refuses to let me be out of pretty paper and envelopes and words to write. To Lois.

Growing up

 

 

 

Some friendships grow old with you.

It’s hard to grow up and figure out where you should be in the world. It’s definitely weird to see you friends become adults right in front of you. Time slips away and you become someone new and weird, somebody you wouldn’t recognize years ago.

A letter to Tiffany, one of my oldest and most awesome friends.

Michigan

is truly my second home.

I miss the people that I met and grew up with in that college experience. I miss my favorite haunts; the coffee shops and the book store where the manager knows exactly what to recommend. I miss being able to walk everywhere and the way strangers greet you on the street. I miss having people surrounding you all the time- the way you could always find someone to catch a movie or dinner with. I miss the Hope chapel and the stained glass windows and the way it feels to walk in and have your heart be at peace.

I love this place too, the place I am in, but Michigan and its trees and snow holds a special place in my heart. I wish it was just a moment away. This letter is to Jen who invites me to one of my favorite places in the world. This is an apology for the busy life I lead which prevents me sometimes from doing things I love.