Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2014

The one with the ring

Meet Jess. While we DO work together, we're more than coworkers. She is a dear friend. Jess moved to DC last year with her husband and their sidekick of a dog, Freddy. We became running buddies, as it's always good to have a friend who runs the same pace as you! The days she is in the office are my favorite days of the week. On an especially cold and rainy Monday, Jess and I made our normal morning trek to get coffee. We'd been out of the office for almost 2 weeks and we had a LOT to catch up on! She'd gone on a cruise for Thanksgiving break, I'd gone to Texas and NYC. We got back to the office with our coffee and resumed or mornings. About 40 minutes later, I was in the middle of a conference call when Jess came into my office a bit stressed and started scanning the floor and my desk. She then walked out. I wasn't at a point where I could figure out what was happening, so just made a point to follow up with her later. I went down to her offi

The one with confusion.

A beautiful friend lost her battle with cancer last night. A mom birthed a beautiful baby and never got to take him home last week. Our country is reeling with pain and confusion in the wake of a grand jury decision. So much pain. Sitting on a 6 hour flight to California and can't stop the tears.

The one where I return

It's been a while, old friend. I could say it's because I've been so busy. I could say it's because I'm more selective these days on things I post online. I could say it's because I don't have much to write about. Whatever the case. I haven't written much this year. In October I celebrated three years with the Foundation. Three. Years. I don't even know how that is possible. It doesn't make sense to me. November marked two years since the apartment fire. Time continues to fly by and I continue to stand with my mouth agape in confusion and wonder at how fast it goes. This Thanksgiving I went to Texas for a baby shower, a wedding, and family time. My best friend is having a baby. This kid will be one of the most loved babies to walk this earth. I just know it. I can't wait to meet him. A friend from college said "I do" to the man of her dreams. I wept as they had their first dance. It was a beautiful picture of God

The one when I ran 7 miles

I remember the first time I ran 7 miles. I was in Tallahassee, Florida. I was training for my half marathon to take place in June. The year was 2012. It was a big deal. I'd never run that far before. Never. When I finished, I remember feeling elated. I remember thinking to myself "I JUST RAN 7 MILES!" I went to Panera after and got a bagel. I went home, ate my bagel, and iced my knees. I'll be running 7 miles tomorrow. I love that 7 miles doesn't scare me this time around. I love that I know I can do it. I'm not so cocky to think it will be easy or that the run will be a good run. I still have days in which my run is hard. But tomorrow, I'll run 7 miles and think about 2012 when I did it for the first time. I'll remember not to forget the feeling. I'll remember that 7 miles is a big deal.

The one if David hadn't been a shepherd

Psalm 23. A verse most know well. And it makes sense. David was a shepherd. He took his experiences and related them to his writing. So that's what I have done for you. What if David hadn't been a shepherd? What if he had been a social media director? Psalm 23 may have looked something like this: The Lord is my social media director, I shall not lack likes. He makes me put down my phone for portions of my day; He calms the twitter feed; He uses the right hashtag for my conference's sake. Even though so many type slurs all day long, I will fear no viruses; for you are blocking them. Partners and friendly press, they comfort me. You prepare content for me in the presence of my full mailbox. You anoint my fingers with no typos. Surely likes, fans, favorites, and retweets will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell near good wi-fi forever. Anyone else glad David was a shepherd? Happy Wednesday!

The one with #IfThenStories

Saw this post today and knew instantly what my "If Then Story" was. In the link, Idina Menzel shares had she not auditioned for Rent, she would not be where she is today. (Aka- we probably wouldn't be singing "let it go!" as often as we do.) My If/Then Story is: If I had gotten into nursing school like I'd worked so hard to do....as I begged/pleaded with God to help me do...as I thought I wanted to do.... Then I would not be where I am today. (And I love where I am today!) What's your #IfThenStory?

The one with a spa weekend getaway

30 feels good. I had an exceptional weekend in Scottsdale with my sisters and dear friend, Helen, to celebrate. The weekend included movies, shopping, pool time, surprises, presents, fantastic food, and more. So much more. Thanks to these three beauties. My actual birthday was crazy amazing too, thanks to some special deliveries made to my office and great DC friends.  I felt celebrated, loved, and so incredibly special. 

The one with a 15 minute drive north

I've been alive three decades. (ok, so I'm 5 days shy of that being a true statement) The first decade will probably always be known the easiest. I mean, seriously. Age 0-10... life isn't that hard. It will always be the most carefree.  The second one, ages 10-20. The decade I survived. Really. That includes Jr. High and High school. Surviving those years is something to be proud of. It's a tough go for some people. Me included. I wouldn't say there was anything extra special that happened in those ages for me. Aside from leaving home to start college. That's a big deal. But that's just the beginning. And the third one. The decade I've just completed. The richest, most thrilling decade so far. Ages 20-30.   The first half of my twenties were not particularly my favorite. That was the season of finishing college, trying to decide what I would do with my life (especially since nursing school didn't work out for me.) There were many tears

Dad's blog post.

My dad wrote a blog post 36 hours after the apartment fire last year. I go back and read it often. Especially on days in which I'm tempted to take the pen back and write my own story. Here's what he wrote: Minda is our middle child.  She’s 28 years old, but still,…our middle child. The fact that she is a middle child is probably worth a blog post in itself; or so she would suggest. But I’ll save that for another time. If Minda was writing her own life story, it’s safe to say that she would probably be married and a mother of at LEAST 3 kids by now, if not more.  And there would not be a woman more suited for that role; happily in her own house while her husband was off at work providing for their growing family.  I have no doubt that if you popped in on her at home on any given day, you would be greeted with her radiant smile with a baby on her hip in one arm and probably a phone in her other hand offering some encouraging advice to one of her many, many friends.

The one with a warm meal

"There's no replacement for what happens when we make something with our own hands, directed by our own senses, motivated by our own love for the people we're serving." It's cold in DC. REALLY cold. And I love it. After a fantastic ski trip weekend to West Virginia, I came back to DC and prepared for the blizzard they were calling for. Several coworkers were in town from Tallahassee for work meetings and because of the storm- were stranded and unable to get out on time. Which means I had the opportunity to have Sarah over to my apartment for homemade soup. I didn't need to rush home to clean, there was no need to fret about what was or was not in my fridge, I just was able to get what I needed and prepare a meal for a dear friend. Sarah, thanks for sharing a meal with me. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to "make something with my own hands, motivated by my love for YOU, the person I was serving."

The one where DC survived Minda

DC survived one year with me. Well done, DC. A year ago this weekend I loaded up my car with my journals and made the drive to DC. You don't need some sappy one year reflection type of post, so I'll just leave it at that. Congratuations, DC, on putting up with me for a year. Good job.

The one to close out 2013

An end-of-year tradition of mine for the last 9 years or so has been to read through my journals from the year that is coming to a close. And what starts off as just reading one year turns into reading back through multiple years of journal entries. It's one of my favorite days of the year. I love reading all that has happened and being able to see the growth and change that I've encountered. This is another reason I am so grateful  my journals survived the fire of 2012. A couple of weeks before the fire, I'd written in my journal: I will look back on this year (2012) as the year that God overwhelmed me. And even after the fire- I felt that was true. Completely overwhelmed. In a good way. The outpouring of people's generosity after the fire sealed the deal. What an overwhelming year. With work, with relationships, with family, with kindness. An overwhelming year. Wrapping up 2013, I'd say this has been a year of great loss. While the fire may have happened in