Sundresses, sunscreen, sunhats, and baseball. Sounds like summer to me! This week brought the first HOT temperatures of the year, and Chris and I celebrated tonight with friends- watching our friend, Matt, sing the National Anthem at the Oakland A’s game, drinking beer, eating hot dogs, and joining in all around merriment.
BALLS (Bay Area Loquacious Literary Society) celebrated its first anniversary tonight!
My sister, Sarah, is coming to visit next month. She is coming because she loves me and wants to spend time with me. The trip was spurred on by the fact that I didn’t go back for Christmas this year because it was too big of a push for me mentally; I just needed some down time. Chris and I got it by staying in California, but we really missed being with our families for the holidays.
Sarah decided to come visit, because she knew it would bless me, build me up, and care for me. We and I are super close, can tell each other anything, and love each other immensely. She is one of my best friends, and I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
I explain this, because it got kinda twisted last week in my mind. All the sudden, I started thinking about this future visit as a stressful time. It was actually really strange, because she’s really low key and just wants to be with me. Honestly, even if we sat on the couch all week, I’m sure she would be happy to have some time to relax and talk in person without two little munchkins (the cutest kids on earth, Elijah and Norah) running around. Plus, she’s coming over my students’ break, so I don’t even have to juggle work!
But my odd response to the visit was another sign that I had my head on backward (see this week’s previous posts if you don’t believe me). So I changed my mind.
In this situation, that change was really easy to enact. I’ve been thinking about the fun things that we can do while she’s here (Año Nuevo’s elephant seals, Sonoma wine tasting, Santa Cruz, walks to take in all the California flowers in bloom, antiquing in my neighborhood), the way that we’ll stay up way too late chatting like we always have (since we shared a room when we were young), and getting to meet her little boy, Benjamin, for the first time.
Maybe we won’t do any of the activities that I’ve envisioned… but who cares?!? My little sis, who knows me better than the entire world, is coming to visit! Maybe we’ll just cook and drink her yummy margaritas.
I am so excited now for her trip, but it took me realizing that the time together will bring joy and love and life instead of added responsibility. And what little extra duties are required of me, I’m willing to take on, because that time together is totally worth it.
Even if I give up my bed for a few days. But you would, too, if you knew how cute Benjamin was!
A Million Little Steps 