"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." ~Christopher Robin

Sometimes you have people in your life for whom you want to be the best version of yourself. Not because they expect it or would reject you if you weren't. You want to be the best version of yourself for them because they are always the best version of themselves for you. And sometimes you just aren't.

I love you, friend.

May I Return....To The Beginning?

Kate has deemed that because she is following my blog, regular updates are now required. And let's face it, she has the True Blood. Her every wish is my command.

My life continues to be a whirlwind. So many things have happened since my last post: new apartment, new roommate, 5 shows, 2 visits to Chicago, 1 trip to New York, a sick cat, a bum leg, about 15 lbs. lost and/or gained, a drastic hair change, lots of friends gained, one seemingly lost.....Oh, and I even had time to buy some fabulous shoes for a good cause. I have become acutely aware of Ferris's thought that "Life moves pretty fast; if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Not missed so much, but certainly not savored nearly enough. Where did life go?

Yesterday, Cat and I were buying matching comforters for our dorm. Donya was screaming out the car window at Morgan Hall for me to "ditch class and get my hot little butt in the car" to go to happy hour at Jalapenos. The lovely Indian man was selling us non-swirly ice cream at the Key Store in Hull. I was stuffing my car with boxes and starting a life in Princeton. Re-stuffing my car and waving goodbye to the East Coast without a plan for what came next. Meeting my beautiful, amazing children at Rise for the first time.

Without warning, it's three years later. Two classes have moved on and the third will do the same in barely two weeks. Friends have moved on--or I have--and new ones are ever so craftily weaving themselves into the story that is our lives. A niece has been born and steals my heart over and over again with every hilarious story or adorable ginger smile. A much loved grandmother was lost after struggling too long in a body that betrayed the vibrant person we knew and loved. A nephew has grown from baby to toddler to little boy, following our family tradition and taking his first tread onto the boards this summer. I myself have grown, in ways too vast to describe. I've stumbled too, as we often do.

That, I suppose, is the nature of life. Things happen to us, around us, for us.....and as we adapt to them, or don't our lives are shaped. It's not always graceful or comfortable but we survive it, we cherish it, we grow through it. We live.