Mysterious

Amy Grant's mother told her, "Never underestimate the power of keeping some things a mystery."

I think she was right.



let's be...



Shall we?



I wanted to put Mrs. Wilder's words into something a little more cool

So I did.



Fatherly Advice

 

I made the mistake of asking my father, "What should I write about?"

His answer:

"After finishing my first semester of senior year, I reflect upon the many things I've learned...

...but mostly I think about my father and his wonderfully helpful advice."

Thanks, Dad.

Unfortunately, he's right.

I am a reflection kind of gal.

More importantly, my father does give pretty good advice most of the time.

"Manners are important to everyone but me when I come home."

 

"Go out and play with your dog."

 

"Do your work."

I really love my dad.

Mama Lion

Wow.

Talk about protective.

I'm sure you've seen various examples of mother animals in action.

The slow-mo of the mama attacking whatever stands between her and her precious babies.

I feel that way about many things.

I scare myself sometimes.

Like Pinterest.

Suddenly everyone at school is buzzing about it.

Mind says:

"That's my hour-sucking website! Back off! Stay on Facebook! Let me have my marvel-at-the-awesomeness moment alone!"

Or like the play.

Mind says:

"What?!?! Other people like acting too?! Impossible! I know you'll just mess it up. Let me have my good-memories-fun-times cast back!"

Or even like music.

Duh.

Something that was made to be shared.

Mind says:

"I'm gonna tell you about this group I like and this song that's stuck in my head all the time. But don't you dare even think about becoming a fanatical-fan-rave-about-them person like me!"

Empty threats aside...

...let me share with you!

• Pinterest: Love. True, deep love. I've tried a hairstyle I've fallen in love with. It's easy, fast, and cool-looking...all three of those things are hard to come by with my hair.

• Play: We move from last year's Faith County to this year's The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon: surely the dumbest theatrical performance of all time and space. But it makes people laugh (including me - almost as hard to come by as the hairstyle) so what the heck?

• Music: Adele. Need I say more? Yes, I do need. I wish she would stop smoking. There, I said it.

Don't worry.

I promise I won't hurt you too bad if you get between me and my babies.

The Cycle of Depression

Here's how it goes with a friend of mine, in her words:

"Summer...yes. On summer high through September. October...no. Anger. Depression.

 November means...Christmas, and life is heaven on Earth."

Quite literally, I wish to add.

That aside, let me just say that I am one of the verbal anti-November-Christmas proponents.

Here's how it goes with me, in my words:

"No, I do not want to buy my dog a Santa sweater; not now and certainly not when it's actually Christmas."

"What in the world is all this garbage doing up in November?!"

"Man, they sure started early on Christmas lights."

"I hate 'Jingle Bells'."

Until, like, December 8th or something.

So I don't understand my friend's revolutionary change of heart that takes place in the magical time between October 31st and November 1st.

But, in the spirit of the November Christmas season, here's what I said I'm looking forward to about my December Christmas.

• Old movie marathons. Last year it was Doris Day.
• All the smells. Does cold air really smell like something? To me it does.
• And, of course, the Nativity. Nothing better.

Merry November Christmas. Stay happy.

Quotable Quotes

Five fabulous examples of what other people say and I generally agree with.

 

1. "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here." {Abraham Lincoln}

 

2. "I believe Christianity, as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I can see everything else." {C.S. Lewis}

 

3. "Anticipation is the most delicious feeling." {a book called Destiny I read years ago}

 

4. "I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph, and there is a purpose and worth to each and every life." {Ronald Reagan}

5. "I think that's what life is about, actually. It's about flowers and children." {Audrey Hepburn}

 

And of course, "It is best to be..." etc. wins top award.

 

Pin

How 'bout Pinterest?

I just like looking at everyone else's.

I kinda want one; not going to lie.

As this is turning into a list post in my mind, I think I will make it as such.

Ah!

I'll pin.

Pin my ideas here, like on Pinterest!

See, I tied that in quite nicely.

So:

• 
  
  The house currently smells like meat. Good meat. Meat that will soon be consumed. By me.

• 
  
  I am learning to make flowers out of tissue paper.

• 
  
  Tutoring fifth graders has made the phrase, "Their eyes lit up," a reality. They really do light up.

• 
  
  Captain America is going to be in another movie. I. Love. Captain. America.

• 
  
  Pirate Pete: Talk Like a Pirate is my new storybook for storytelling this year. I get to...well...talk like a pirate.

• 
  
  I enjoyed blog-surfing for about an hour tonight. So nice to poke around, after having been away for awhile!

au revoir.

Home is Where My Books Are

I've been reading books as of late.

It's been awhile since I've truly sat down and read a real book.

Let me just say, it's delightful to be back in my element.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was lovely and frightening to my easily disturbed mind. I wouldn't suggest reading it at night.

The Chosen One was sad and sad and sad and intense.

Both I highly recommend.

Books are wonderful.

My mother recently gave a friend a card that says what this title is.

I need more books.

The Indians

Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, Seminole...

Iroquois, Algonquin...

...both of which "we've been saying wrong".

I've been doing a lot of thinking about Indians lately.

Native Americans.

You know.

I'm taking History of the West this year.

And apparently three-fourths of the class are suddenly "of Indian blood".

We've covered the Indians of the Northeast and Southeast thus far.

Every class is a sad account of how horribly Native Americans were treated when they "did absolutely nothing wrong!!"

My teacher is quite empassioned about the subject.

I enter sixth hour mildly excited about 50 minutes of stories.

I leave sixth hour feeling mildly depressed and guilty.

Then the librarian went and recommended the book Octavian Nothing.

More about slaves than Indians, but that's not the point.

*glistening tear*

Then my father had to go and want to watch The Last of the Mohicans.

*SOB*

Even despite my infatuation with Hawkeye/Daniel Day-Lewis...

...good grief!

I didn't do anything!

I promise!

But I still feel like I'm the one who kicked them all off their land.

I'm sorry anyway.

Nonsense

I'm in a decopage mood.

You know, when your mind is kind of helter-skelter and filling in the cracks of the day.

I feel very much like writing a nonsensical what-am-I-thinking-about-right-now post.

So that's what I'm going to do, whether you like it or not. At least, I hope you like it.

P.S. Not neccessarily in order of importance.

1. Water for Elephants. Charming movie. I actually liked Robert Pattinson.

2. I want a camera. I want to take pictures of what I'm thinking about.

3. Forrest Gump. Saw it for the first time and cried, cried, cried.

4. A house we toured while hunting for the grandparents. I want to be their friend. However, it would be kind of odd to say, "Hi there! I saw the inside of your home, looked at the books on your shelves, and analyzed your family pictures! And your decor made me want to babysit your children!"

5. I have athlete's foot. But no one really wants to know that.

6. I do believe that my oratory this year is going to be about history. Hm...wonder where that idea came from?

7. I collect bookmarks. Did you know that? I now have bookmarks from every major attraction in Washington, D.C.

8. Since the beginning of time (aka kindergarten), I have been a horrible notebook-hogger. When someone asks me for a piece of paper and all I have are my spectacular notebooks with very attractive design work on the front, I feel real anger at the person for being irresponsible as I rip out a precious page of paper.

9. I have found a country band that I like. Go ahead and gasp. The Band Perry.

10. And to top off this list of nonsense, let me just say that I'm glad it's almost September. I dream about fall all year long.

Happy Being!

Elyse

The picture is there simply because I love ancient photography. I don't know what it is. Hopefully it isn't a cult or war party. What else is necessary for a post titled "Nonsense"?

It's Almost Over

Well, not quite.

What was it the principal said on the first day of school last Wednesday?

"Only 174 days to go!"

Thank you for that lovely reminder.

That tells me that my days of Mary Tyler Moore marathons are over...

...and that I can't just pop in an Audrey Hepburn flick any time I feel like it...

...and that my brother is thirteen...

...and that he's .1 inches taller than me.

I don't know how I feel about being...you know...

...old.

I'm bad at feeling like I'm superior to the underclassmen.

But they're all so...tiny.

Was I that tiny as a freshman?

Or that...stupid?

I guess I don't want to graduate.

I don't want to be a senior.

Everyone else is constantly saying, "I can't wait to get out of here."

Is it wrong that I don't want to leave just yet?

I'm not one for change.

I was upset when I got a new bed a few years ago.

Can you imagine how frightening the prospects of college are to a person like me?

Perhaps I'll feel differently once things are more planned for my future.

Then I'll be excited.

Maybe.

"I'd much rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they are the first to be rescued off of sinking ships."

{Gilda Radner}

I'm glad to be a woman.

Or close to it.

Almost old enough.

But how nice it is to be able to watch James Dean movies and sigh.

And to love the mind-qualities of Atticus Finch.

And to admire the Situation's guns, for crying out loud.

How nice it is to put on makeup when no one but my family is going to see me.

To put on my navy blue power suit and feel like I can take on the world.

And to admire a sparkly pair of shoes at Neiman Marcus.

And to like Captain America's hair.

And to put on red lipstick.

Just for the heck of it.

Girls can do that.

I love it.

Buckets Part Two

Eleven through twenty.

Here goes.

11. Sing a duet.

12. Tour Edwalani.

13. Be in a reenactment.

14. Ride an ostrich like Mom.

15. Have breakfast at Tiffany's.

16. Go behind the scenes at Disney.

17. Buy (and WEAR) an adorable fedora.

18. Decorate a room turquoise and white.

19. Wander around an Italian city and get lost.

20. Waste a little money in a Vegas slot machine.

Buckets Part One

Polka Dot was quite inspirational, and I created my own bucket list.

I'm not sure why I didn't do this years ago.

I've got forty-five things so far.

With more to come.

Here's ten.

1. 
   
   Serve tea.





2. 
   
   Be a bridesmaid.





3. 
   
   Plant windowboxes.





4. 
   
   Read by candlelight.





5. 
   
   Make an appointment.





6. 
   
   Ride a horse in Ireland.





7. 
   
   Yell from a mountaintop.





8. 
   
   Stay the night in a castle.





9. 
   
   Make someone believe I got a tattoo.





10. 
    
    Watch every movie the Academy has credited with Best Picture.

{photo credit}

Ten things I am in love with:

1. Grinding lemons in the garbage disposal.

2. Boys who wear Buddy Holly glasses.

3. Little kids with missing teeth.

4. Friends who bring you pizza.

5. The Secret Life of Bees.

6. Superman haircuts.

7. Re-reading books.

8. Lenny Kravitz.

9. Tennis fuzz.

10. Buttons.

Now then, here's why:

1. It's the original fresh scent. And it's strangely stress-relieving.

2. Because they're adorable. And they usually have a personality that matches their cool glasses.

3. Mostly because my little cousin has this condition right now. And he makes up stories about robots and projectors at age six, so of course I love him.

4. She showed up today with pictures of Chicago, a souvenir for me, and a cheese pizza. What's not to love?

5. One of my favorite lines: "How you have to breathe out and let the human heart be the puzzle it is." This is summer.

6. Because Superman is undoubtedly the best superhero ever. And the only one I'd want to save me if I were in dire trouble.

7. I'm reading Beauty again. And it's great.

8. My favorite song is "You Were In My Heart". And no one but the best uses lines like, "I know not what to do".

9. There's a whole bunch of it stuck to my tennis racket. And it's cute.

10. I bought a canvas purse with yellow birds on it. And then I decided to make it even better by pinning buttons on it. "Jazz It Up at the Dallas Art Museum", ruby slippers, and Phi Kappa Delta, whatever that is.

I {heart} It

It looks like something from a ghost story or a horror movie, doesn't it?

Granted, I've never actually seen a horror movie (a Titanic museum gave me nightmares).

But still!

I can fill in the blanks.

A-couple-of-teenagers-go-on-a-road-trip-and-end-up-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-with-a-serial-killer.

Isn't that the plot?

But this picture is nothing of the sort.

Nah, it's just James Buchanan's inauguration picture.

I saw the original in D.C.

And I want you to look at it as closely as I did.

All those people.

They were real.

And that is awesome.

In a place like D.C., a person like me gets swept away in the never-ending stories....

...my mother had to literally drag me out of an exhibit at 3 pm to go eat lunch...

...my favorite show (that I never get to see because we don't have cable) is "American Pickers"...

...in between trips to hotels and friend's houses with cable, I settle for "History Detectives" and "Antiques Roadshow"....

...and I have a shirt from the Lincoln Library that says, "I {heart} History," for Pete's sake.

This picture has so many wonderful stories in it.

It represents everything I {heart}.

Which is why, when anyone asks what I plan to do after high school...

...the only thing I say is, "I'm going to college to major in American History."

Maybe one of these days, I'll be working in one of those museums I love so much.

And I'll be saving the world from the bad things it used to be, one fourth grade field trip at a time.

You Go, Girl.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it may be neccessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye."

{the incredibly intelligent and classy Miss Piggy}

D.C.

Fifteen things I saw in Washington, D.C., that made me smile on the inside.

bow ties

panty hose

hipster puppets

small black children

small asian children

old men smoking pipes

Catwoman's supercool outfit

dancing in front of the Smithsonian

a lot of frantic interns clutching Starbucks

grown (rather old) men in polka-dot shorts

thirty-year-old men learning how to use Twitter

people who you can tell feel like they are lookin' good

the second after a picture is taken when everyone relaxes

tears of happiness with, "I made it, Mom!"s rippling across a ballroom

watching all the people slowly nod off in their business attire on the train after a long day

{photo credit}

Ouch.

My heart hurts a little.

So does my hair.

It's all stiff with hairspray, and it's going to be a nightmare untangling it.

I'm jealous of my brother. A couple of swipes with a comb and things are as good as new.

As for the heart...

"Drama" is pointless.

I've always made a point of not getting myself mixed up in anything.

I did nothing wrong.

I wasn't even in the "drama".

But it directly affected me.

Ouch.

It's a relief to know that nothing I did caused any of it.

But still.

It hurts a little.

Things were normal.

Fun.

Relatively simple.

I just don't get what changed.

I think I misjudged people.

The "drama" is an excellent example of that.

But my poor little heart got pricked.

And my cheeks got red.

I sat on the sidelines with a clear view of everything I didn't do wrong.

So I decided not to let it get to me.

That would be pointless.

And I went home and slept and ate and sat and stared and wrote and attempted to not feel sorry for myself.

I hope they're all happy.

Maybe now I'll truly become the poetry-writing type.

Ouch.

The Promenade and Other Incredibly Important Things

Yes, prom.

That lovely time for all high school girls.

Sort of.

This whole topic is near and dear to my heart, as I have been surrounded by prom-y discussions since before Christmas break.

So, let me be honest about a few things.

1. 
   
   Tanning for prom is not (I repeat, NOT) a good idea, in my opinion. No offense. I personally just don't want to be orangeish and contract skin cancer.


2. 
   
   I will not be wearing feathers or flowers of any kind. Vintage look for me, please.


3. 
   
   Dancing is stupid.


4. 
   
   Okay, I take it back. I would gladly waltz, Jane-Austen-country-dance, Charleston, and jitterbug it up if dancing styles hadn't evolved. Too bad.


5. 
   
   In a small school like mine, prom is a big deal.


6. 
   
   It's becoming more and more clear to me now...just how odd high school relationships are. Dates and all that jazz have changed for so many in just a few weeks. Myself included. Huh! The mind is funny that way.


7. 
   
   How I, of all people, ended up on the prom committee...I have no idea.


8. 
   
   All things considered, I'm pretty excited. I have a pretty dress and sparkly jewelry, so I'm happy.

Now then, let's move on to more important topics, shall we?

1. 
   
   The American Lit class is watching The Great Gatsby. Hence all the classic-dance talk.


2. 
   
   I'm not going to miss the seniors as much as I did last year. My brain cells needn't be wasted on that.


3. 
   
   I think I'm in love with a song sung in...uh...Romanian, I think? Listen.

And now...

I, Elyse, am going to post a poem I have written myself. You read that right. Don't laugh, okay?

I had to. For Creative Writing. (Thanks a lot, Mr. Lawson.)

I don't have a title for it. Sorry.

Ahem. *insert clearing of throat sounds here*

Cowboys and Indians

Redcoats and rebels

Blacks and whites

Basses and trebles

Crystal clear

The end is near.

Smiles and frowns

Darkness and day

Kindness and cruelty

Work and play

With every tear

The end draws near.

Pencils and pens

Fingers and toes

Life and death

Open and close

Each new year

An end is clear

War and peace

Yours and mine

Finders and keepers

Rain and shine

Sorry, my dear

Your end is near.

I told you not to laugh. :)

Minstrel Man

Because my mouth

Is wide with laughter

And my throat

Is deep with song,

You do not think I suffer

after I have held my pain

So long?

Because my mouth

Is wide with laughter,

You do not hear

My inner cry?

Because my feet

Are gay with dancing,

You do not know

I die?

{Langston Hughes}

A friend of mine said that this was one of their favorite poems. It's immensely sad, don't you think?

Good Luck!

"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."

No Auditions for Role Modeling

role model : noun : a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others.

When I tried out for the play, I read some lines in a Southern accent.

And waited until the end of the week.

Then - miracle of miracles! - the list on the door said I was Mildred.

Ta da!

Easily done.

Not too difficult.

But I decided to audition for the play.

I made myself speak with a Southern accent.

My life?

A different story.

I just live it.

Isn't that how you do it, too?

Don't really think about how you do things...until you're called out on something.

What if you got called out in a good way?

They told you that you have characteristics that they admire and want in their own lives.

At first, you would want to sit that person down and tell them how they truly don't want to be like you.

You see every angle of yourself - the good, the bad, the ugly, and the uglier.

But then you would decide to accept the compliment.

It would mean you're living your life in a way someone else thinks is honorable.

So you would want to jump up and do something wonderful!

You would want to live so that they will have something worthwhile to respect.

You would want to be "better" for them at first...

...but then you would realize it's that messy person that they respect.

So maybe being a role model would change something about you.

You would realize that you're being seen.

Picture Credit

five revelations from spring break

1. 207 pages of John Grisham's The Summons were read in Arkansas. Never knew I was a fan.

-

2. Far too much cranberry jello was eaten. Once again, in Arkansas.

-

3. It was realized that my brother will grow up to be either a sports photographer or a card shark.

-

4. A future subscription to both "Reminisce" and "Country Living" would be fantastic.

-

5. I am in deep like with The Great Gatsby.

-

Any new revelations?

i felt my life with both my hands

I felt my life with both my hands
To see if it was there—
I held my spirit to the Glass,
To prove it possibler—

I turned my Being round and round
And paused at every pound
To ask the Owner's name—
For doubt, that I should know the Sound—

I judged my features—jarred my hair—
I pushed my dimples by, and waited—
If they—twinkled back—
Conviction might, of me—

I told myself, "Take Courage, Friend—
That—was a former time—
But we might learn to like the Heaven,
As well as our Old Home!"

-Emily Dickinson

Quite interesting, don't you think? I do like it. I'm sorry if it makes even less sense with all my font changes. Maybe some more Dickinson shall be in the near future...

slowing

Busy, busy, busy.

Far too busy.

Even now, when I'm trying to slow down, there's the persistent canned cheering of NBA 2K9 in the background, which somehow makes me feel rushed.

Yes, the Celtics are beating the Magic in Jake's simulated basketball world.

Anyhow, I intentionally tried to slow down today.

I took my time getting ready for church.

I folded clothes.

I played the oboe. That sound isn't necessarily calming, per se, but that's not the point.

I wore sweats all afternoon, for crying out loud.

And yet here I am, still feeling rushed.

You see, it's been a very, very cram-packed weekend.

I'm headed to State with two of my speaking events (one of which is my original oratory).

So that's wonderful! And I'm excited.

But I was running around so much this weekend trying to get there.

And that has made me incredibly tired.

So, slowing down is necessary.

As a result, let's think about calm things, shall we?

Here are five things I believe best demonstrate what I've been doing throughout my absence here in the blogosphere:

• I discovered Etsy. Oh. My. I think I'm in love. Here's one cute artist who inspires me to get a job, just so I can have money to buy her stuff.

• Have you ever seen The Romantics? If you haven't, don't. If you have, I feel your pain. Incredibly unsatisfying and strange, not to mention it sported the worst character development I've ever seen.

• As stated earlier, I competed in speech and debate districts. And also, as stated earlier, they went extremely well. If you happen to be looking for a wonderful children's story, Martina the Beautiful Cockroach is the best. It's treated me very well in storytelling this year.

• My high school had Homecoming. And I *sigh* went to the actual dance after the game. I sigh because I spent the entire evening selling soda in the concession stand. It might sound pathetic, but truthfully, I had a far better time bobbing my head with those folks rather than "dancing" out there.

• Rehearsals for the spring play are headed into high gear. Ever heard of Faith County? Neither had I. But it's funny, I get to be sarcastic the whole time, and there's a Porta Potty on the stage, so all is well.

• Emily Dickinson, I discovered, is great. This is coming from me. The poetry rebel. I checked out the 50-pound book of her entire collection of poetry. Though I was supposed to be writing an essay about her, I started losing track of time in that book. Those spastic dashes and lack of capitalization fascinate me. A Dickinson post is in order, I believe.

Yes, it seems that things are a bit less hectic now. Slowing down a tad.

Please don't forget to stop every once in awhile. Please.

Ah! My laundry is clean! Something else to do that's calming.

So, see you for the Dickinson post later this week?

Sounds fabulous. It's a date.

yum and the story

Yogurt-covered pretzels - the babysitter I loved.

Salsa from that little Mexican restaurant - 100% gen-you-eyne.

Lemonade - summer nights.

Turkey sandwiches - the school cafeteria.

Ranch dressing - the old house and the dining table there.

Carrot cake - my birthday forever ago.

Goat cheese - my trip to St. Louis.

Homemade pizza - a random Friday night with my family.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts - Sunday mornings in the Loft at church.

Wendy's cheeseburgers - Wednesday nights in the Loft at church.

Diet Coke - beloved aunt and uncle's house in beloved St. Louis.

Chocolate mousse - American Girl Place in Chicago five years ago.

Fake eggs - camp.

Hot chocolate - blogging.

On Pretty Things

Keeping up the spirit of the last post, I got to thinking about the, uh, eyes. Yup. You guessed it.

Pretty lookin' stuff.

The nook upstairs where all major decisions are made, books are read, and things are written down...by me. The shade is a perfect filter of light in the morning.

The coolest jewelry ever...made out of typewriter keys.

"Cracker Crumb" paint on the walls of the living room.

Sundae's ears. In case you're wondering, that would be my dog.

Debate trophies.

My brother's face when he first plugged in the Xbox 360.

Clotheslines in the spring.

Lemon cookie boxes.

Kerosene lanterns.

Paul Newman.

Ireland in general.

Italy in general.

The little icon on my dashboard that says, "Followers".

Rocking chairs.

St. Louis.

My bookshelves.

Old notebooks from seventh grade.

Tennis ball fuzz.

Snow. (It's fallin' in abundance 'round these parts.)

Tom Cruise.

This adorable new blog I found.

Pretty much any old "cowboy" movie.

Octopus necklaces.

Ancient books.

Giant shuttlecocks in Kansas City.

My dear dedicated artist friend's work. (She sends me pictures of everything.)

Clean hair and the 'do that ensues.

Unsliced loaves of bread.

That picture above.

On Hearing Things

The best, prettiest, funnest, most emotion-evoking sounds around. To me, anyway.

• giggles
• Australian accents
• most Bon Jovi music
• heat kicking on in the house
• keychains
• a Mustang engine revving
• Gene Kelly's tap dancing
• "Claire de Lune"
• puffy golden prom dress
• dangly earrings
• Dad chopping wood out back
• any salon
• the music on A Series of Unfortunate Events
• "Such Great Heights"
• GPS voices
• Wal-Mart greeters
• theme song of "The Andy Griffith Show"
• my mother singing show tunes
• "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes
• heels clicking on linoleum
• "Stereo Love." Seriously, accordian music!
• Grandpa
• snow

snow day - summer night

Yes, it's a snow day. The second one this week, as a matter of fact. Personally, I'm tired of it. Two days in a row, stuck in a house, coughing up lungs, and warming my toes and fingers are not my ideal day off.

Isn't it strange that so often, when winter sets upon us, that we're usually ready for summer again? And when summer's here, there's a desire for winter, or at least something a little cooler?

Maybe it's not that way for you. Maybe others are simply content in ice storms and chronic colds. But I, unfortunately, am not like that and cannot get out of winter without a complaint or two.

So, to cheer myself and any other winter-drudgery-sick individual, how 'bout a dose of late summer evening?

night.

fireflies.

shorts.

cicadas.

sweat.

lemonade.

maybe tea.

running.

cut grass.

giggles from kids.

growing dark.

lights in the trees.

lawn chairs.

burgers.

ice cream.

talking 'til ten.

under stars.

nerf guns.

more cicadas.

grimy hands.

leaving.

then staying a little longer.

too dark to see.

but still talking.

still laughing.

looking for the dippers.

smelling the grill.

smiling.

time to go inside.

maybe.

Photo taken by my debate partner and friend Melissa. She's quite talented, don't you think? Tennis courts and a sky. That's all she needs.