The Answer, My Friend, is Blowing in the Wind

A couple of weeks ago at church (Southland Christian Church) our pastor, Jon, talked about his practice of writing things that are holding him up in life onto a balloon and then letting the balloon go.  I don’t know about you, but I have had some things that I have been struggling to let go of in the last year or so, so this idea appealed to me.  And my sweet friends Lindsey and Rachel (or at least I talked them into doing it with me).  

Today we went to the Arboretum to do the thing, but before hand Rachel decided to run approximately 100 miles (go Rachel!) so Lindsey and I walked in the absolutely perfect weather.  No more than 3 minutes into our walk, an older lady randomly singled us out mid-stride and started a conversation.  After standing still and talking for several minutes, we invited her to walk with us.  Things escalated quickly.

For two hours we listened to her talk about disappointments related to churches and small groups, disappointments about relationships with family members, disappointments about her career, disappointment about her lost youth, and her desire to feel connected to the world and to people.  If we are going to be honest, I am confident she literally could have talked about her disappointments forever.  Forever.  

As we got to the end of the trail, slightly exhausted from all of the listening, we invited her to do the balloon activity with us and prayed together.  She seemed like a sweet lady who just didn’t have a full grip on reality... we will never know on this side of heaven if listening to her, attempting to encourage her, or the therapeutic activity will even make a dent in her emotional or mental health, but it sure did give us a lot to think about.

A few months ago I, too, thought I had a good handle on an issue I was dealing with.  However, every time I met with a new life group (mostly strangers) I found myself breaking down in tears and realized that was indicative I probably didn’t have as good of a handle on things as I hoped.  I’m grateful that those strangers listened and invited me to coffee and lunch.  Because they did, I’m not crying about that issue anymore, and today I popped my balloon and let it go for good.  [It turns out if you leave balloons in a hot car all day, it loses the floating effect so you just have to pop it].  

I am sure that I will think about today for years to come and still not figure out the purpose of that meeting in full.  Preliminary thoughts though:

1. I am sincerely thankful that at 23-25, my cute friends and I were able to analyze what we need to let go of.  It seems like it would be a difficult habit to start at age 60.
2. I am thankful/proud that I have at least two sweet friends who were willing to listen patiently to a stranger who had a lot to say.
3. Everyone needs friends.  It’s easy to forget when you have them.  It’s hard to reconcile when you don’t.  

So tell your friends you love them, folks, and don’t be afraid to make new ones.  

Party Like It's Your Birthday: A Tribute to Evie Cheatham

If you are like me, you try to not make too big a deal about yourself for 363 days out of the year.  But birthdays are different.  On your birthday you can wear whatever you want, go wherever you want, and feel like in the upcoming year you can be whomever you want… or at least, that is how a girl should feel on her birthday.  In a world full of disappointment, birthdays can be some of the biggest let downs in life.  Or maybe that’s just me.  My birthday is right between Jesus’s Birthday and the New Year, so everyone is usually out of town, broke, and/or just too cold to celebrate little ole me.  I get it though, I do.  

No one understands the need for a good birthday quite like my perfect roommate, Evie.  At the tippy top of her long list of best qualities is her essence of birthday magic.  Maybe you are one of her 26 best friends, maybe she doesn’t know you… it doesn’t really matter because SHE.  WILL.  MAKE.  YOUR.  BIRTHDAY.  AWESOME.  She loves your birthday more than you love your birthday.  Sincerely.  She really does.   

Another thing… she will absolutely always make sure

to make birthday photo collages of you two using only

your very most attractive pictures.

Since we met in October 2010, she has totalled her car not once but TWICE while traveling for my birthday.  [Again, you should probably just rule out ever celebrating my birthday because of stupid December weather].  Her insurance company hates me, but she still always tries her darndest to always show up.

Celebration of the life of me,

right before the death of her Fusion.

You know when she also makes a point to show up?  When it’s NOT your birthday, but you need it to be.  We all have those days,  don’t we?!  Life is hard.  Work is hard.  Relationships are hard.  Having 22 homework assignments  due on one day is hard.  Evie Cheatham gets it, and thus declares a lot of random days as my “birthday.”   [Luckily, she has never totalled her car during a fake birthday].  

When life kicks my butt, Evie makes my loves for blazers and riesling collide by taking me to my favorite little bar, Belle’s Cocktail House, and holds my hand enough for people to think I’m more interesting than I really am.  You should be her friend, but I’ll warn you, there’s a wait list.  

P.S. If you borrowed this dress from Evie, SHE WANTS IT BACK.

Another Post Script: I love Belle’s.

I would say that Evie doesn’t really have “secrets” because she is pretty open about everything, but one of the key tenets she practices that has helped her acquire 26 genuine best friends: 

LIVE EVERY DAY LIKE IT’S YOUR FRIEND’S BIRTHDAY.  

AND ALSO YOUR BIRTHDAY.  

But seriously, do it.  It will make their world feel more magical.  In the midst of hard lives, tough jobs, the stresses of dating, and having 22 assignments due in one day, don’t we all need more than one day a year to remind us of how good the world can be?!

Tomorrow is a snow day, and so Evie and I have deemed today and also tomorrow Sam Noe’s birthday.  Sam Noe moved to a new city, got her dream nursing job, and has Taylor Swift level awesome red hair.  If anyone deserves one and a half fake birthday days, it is Sam.  

Friends, tomorrow I hope you sit on your couch and drink some pinot grigio to Sam Noe, and tell your friends you love them.  Spread the magic!

Her hair though...