…well, a little longer than quick.

I got hardcore SURPRISED, y’all.

It seemed like I was just going to be sitting in front of my computer working all night but nope. Instead, I was whisked away to my second home by a knight in a grey Honda who drove 2 hours to see me [I mean who does that?? that’s awesome??] and spent the weekend relaxing, failing at Dark Souls, eating food, and watching The Office.

The night turned into morning and more coffee and good weather and spontaneous food trips.

I’m getting better about leaving but before we did, we celebrated the break in the rain streak and hit the university arboretum. It was gorgeous. There were turtles. It was also hot, and we ran out of water.

But what a lovely end to the day. My heart felt so full– I do love walking along in nature as is, but to walk along in nature with the people close to you and just talk honestly, unabashedly about life, about love, about skepticism… that’s what makes it for me.

I know I often like to be alone but this is one thing I know I thrive with.

xx

Today felt yucky.

I was putting in lots of hours and I was basically at my computer all day, stressing myself out, so I decided. I decided enough was enough and I just got up in the middle of what I was doing and got ready.

Tennis shoes. T-shirt. Jacket. Headphones.

And before I knew it, I was out the door, embarking on a run for the first time in weeks, in cool [finally!] temperatures.

Thing was, it was still raining. It had been raining like, all week, in fact. But at this point I didn’t care. I just needed to be OUT, to move my body.

I opted for my favourite running trail and ugh. Watching the trees unite in a canopy above me, their new-leaf green radiating even as the leaking clouds blocked the sun…

Something about using nature to escape [as I often do], something about coming home slightly drenched, legs sore… Something about hearing the trickling of raindrops through levels of leaves but leaving the pavement dry below you… it’s really flipping hypnotizing.

I’d love to do it again soon.

xx

I was so excited to see my roommate again, even though it had only been a week or so since we’d last seen each other. She was dog-sitting nearby and we made plans for lunch in a cute downtown. We scored free parking, and were in the middle of deliberating where we would get food when we noticed the dark clouds closing in on us.

One thing about me– I absolutely LOVE the drama of the sky. All day every day, but ESPECIALLY before a storm happens. So we took advantage of it with some pictures.

Right after these pics, however, heavy droplets started to fall and we knew we had to pick somewhere to dine, and fast.

So we ducked into the Delirium and shortly after, sheets were cascading from the sky. We had a nice window view, so we were able to see everything get blown, drenched, and obscured by the walls of water. Moments later, people’s phones started going off with Tornado Warnings– I got one for my home address and decided to call to make sure everyone was okay/preparing accordingly.

A cocktail and a meatball sub later, we took our time eating dessert as the rain subsided, hoping we could sneak out and into the garage parking before it started again.

We managed to do just that, and I rode with Traci back to the house she was dog-sitting in {close family friends of hers) where an anxious Labrador pupper was waiting there for us. She could barely contain her excitement and when we let her outside, we were greeted with the most vibrant violet sky + rainbow combo I’ve seen in a while.

xx

I don’t think I ever realized how much I enjoyed the serenity of my grandmother’s house, nestled between two bodies of water.

It’d been a while, me being away at school and everything, but I don’t think I could ever forget the way her face lights up when we walk in, when she finally has someone to actually talk to.

She shows us the new litter of kittens that came in the early spring, we convince her to stay out of the kitchen, and I can’t ignore her gorgeous flowers.

We eat like champions and top it off with her/my mom’s favourite dessert of yellow cake and chocolate icing, accompanied by the usual college interrogation [I know they’re just curious about my life but JEEEEZ sometimes it’s overwhelming] by the extended family that has now spread to my middle brother, especially as he released the news he’d be joining me in the fall.

It made me think about the time ahead, how when everything gets hectic I should stop and picture my grandmother’s, the small waves that lap against the pebbles and the gentle swans that wade across the creek like they own it, the way I can just roam around her acres far away from the traffic of the normal road, speeding down the long, continuous slope that is her driveway on a scooter. [Doing so, I’m reminded of the time I tried to walk a dachsund and ride a Razor at the same time. It didn’t go so well.]

I went home full of food, full of motherly love, and exTREMELY tired.

xx

Suspended in slow motion, it didn’t matter what we ate for breakfast. The mochas were fantastic.

We ventured out near a stream that I didn’t know existed anywhere near your apartment. But it did, and there was a waterfall. I felt a little bad intruding, the taste of artificial paper mango on my lips, in my lungs.

We didn’t have much time because we had to get back on the road, but it was okay because the waiting was worth it. Oh, so worth it.

We opted for an album on the way back. Remind me what it was.

I know I got a little sad when you drove away but it’s fine– obligations were calling our names and it’s Mother’s Day tomorrow.

Shoot, it’s Mother’s Day tomorrow. How can I express all the love I have for the mother and grandmother in my life when I don’t even have an idea yet? When all they do for me is priceless and there’s no way I could repay them?

I made two cards.

I hope they’ll understand.

xx

I waited all week for this day.

I waited all week
to sip dirty chais in your company in that wooden box of a lobby, only to ditch it minutes later to show you the splendor of the day ahead of us.

I waited all week
to stroll along the river, buzzing with excitement, excitement to take you past the river banks and discover a path I had not yet taken.

I waited all week
to duck into the local Toys R Us spontaneously because they were having a ridiculous store-closing sale and your mother needed something cute and quirky for her birthday.

I waited all week
to speed down a winding road under a canopy of new-leaf green, your voice blaring through the speakers, the wind completely destroying all previous efforts I had made with my hair.

I waited all week
to be blessed with some of the most delicious BBQ tingling my tongue as the ducks waddled around and the water lapped against the pillars of the bridge, waterside accompanied by the soft, gravely voice covering the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

I waited all week
to see the joy in your face when you introduced me to one of your best friends.

I waited all week
to have you in a car to myself, smiling in the driver’s seat over at me, riding down the highway with a determination to listen to an album in its entirety.

I waited. All week. To throw down my things beside your door and eat our usual late night snack to the humor of The Office.

I waited all week
for you.

xx

Another day of purpose.

I think I mentioned earlier about how my summer was not unfolding at all how I thought it would… so the fact that I was getting back on track to financial recovery with some hard-core babysitting plans was good enough for me. It is a summer of making money, y’all. Tuition won’t pay for itself. […Neither will a car, for that matter.]

This gig though, was super special. Not only did it pay well, but it was an infant I would be watching, and I met her mother. The baby has the cutest “stink-face” and I just can’t get over how mesmerizing her steely eyes are.

It’s definitely been a bit since I’ve watched children that young, and even a bigger bit since my siblings were that age. However I still found myself being struck with that wave of baby-cuteness [the kind that makes you think that settling down to have kids isn’t so bad after all].

I was given the instructions/updates/information [all I’d need to know about caring for this specific infant] over a caramel latte in a quaint coffee/fro-yo shop [that I used to work at when it was all neon and sketchy….!] that is the hipster spot on the block.

Coffee and baby cuteness?

Yes please.

xx