The Essentials

My happy feet hanging out by the pool. Ah, summer.

This picture was taken while laying by my parents’ pool on a recent visit to Kentucky. There’s a lot going on here, so I’m going to make a list. Here goes:

The pool - Growing up with a pool in the backyard probably was a huge contributor to my love for swimming. There is no better feeling than taking a dip in the water after sitting in the hot summer sun. Here’s the thing though: I’m not a particularly elegant swimmer. I have lots of stamina in the pool and can tread water for a very long time, but I never took swimming lessons. As a kid, my dad learned to swim when someone tossed him in a pond shouting, "you better learn!" He learned pretty quick, and many years later became my swim instructor. My dad never tossed me into the pool like that, but I never learned the proper techniques for all the different strokes. I also never learned how to dive properly. My siblings and I used to have daily pool contests: smallest splash, biggest splash, best dive, best flip, etc. I often won the biggest splash because my gangly limbs simply went everywhere. The same principle meant that I always had the ugliest dive. Imagine a frog jumping into the water. That’s pretty much how it looks. Swimming with me is undignified, which is what I love about the pool.

And Then There Were None

Time for a little R&R.

Today was the last day of school for students. This means that it’s time for me to put my feet up for a bit, which is what I’m doing in this picture.

The end of the school year is always bittersweet for me. Mostly sweet, but there’s some bitterness in the mix as well. I love my job as a middle school teacher. I can’t imagine doing anything else. But as any teacher will tell you, it’s a tiring profession. Educating kids is hard. Loving them is even harder. Luckily, we have this nifty little thing called summer break to give us a brief reprieve.

I’ll miss the kids, of course. I had the opportunity to really get to know a couple of eighth grade girls, and it makes me a little sad that I won’t be seeing them regularly. It’s always hard to watch some of the eighth graders go, but go they must. They’ll keep in touch, and it will be interesting to see how their lives unfold. Next year we’ll have a brand new crop of kids just waiting to be stretched, challenged, and enjoyed...and the cycle continues. It’s a glorious thing. 

And in the meantime, I’m going to enjoy the summer sun!

The Lizzard in the Lou

 A picture of Liz's happy feet in Beirut, Lebanon

Last week, Liz came for a visit. It was a breath of fresh air. I took a picture of our feet together, but I'm not sure what happened to it. While she was here we went to a college graduation, cooked and ate a lot, and went for an epic tromp through Forest Park. While we were there, we saw 33 turtles, a really cool photo shoot, sunbathers in their underwear, and a gigantic black dog named Josh. It was a walk for the record books.

When I met Liz almost five years ago, Andy and I were new in St. Louis. I was intimidated by the process of finding a new community and had joined a small group to build relationships. Liz was already a member of that group, and I liked her immediately. Our first conversation was about the hilarity of working with college students, internationals to be precise. Her husband Todd is an accomplished storyteller, and that sucked me in right away. As Andy and I drove home from that night, I told him I wanted to spend more time with Todd and Liz. It was an instant connection. The four of us went on to become tremendous friends. We started a small group together. We cooked dinner together. We did dishes together. We road tripped. We dreamed. We walked dogs, and each other. Last year they moved to Texas, and it felt like one of my limbs had been removed. 

When I’m with Liz, I am the best version of myself. I feel the freedom to simply exist, and be enjoyed for who I am. There is no effort to be funny, witty, or clever. It’s refreshing. She is hopeful and compassionate; she’s the optimism to my cynicism. She doesn’t let me minimize negative experiences, and I don’t feel like I have to be a tough girl when I’m around her. What’s more, she isn’t afraid to wade into my crap with me. Sometimes I feel like I’m waist-deep in it and when I turn around, I realize that she’s helping me shovel myself out. When it became obvious that life was getting a little too crazy, she made me see a counselor. She literally sent an email to someone in the counseling office and CC’ed me in on it. I don’t know how long I would have let things go before I took that step for myself. She’s that kind of friend.

Liz is a good question-asker. Her questions are insightful and often help me get to the bottom of what I’m feeling. I usually have trouble describing emotions, but she can draw things out of me just with a few well-phrased inquiries. She also is good about narrating my thoughts back to me, which helps me to clarify my words to accurately express what I’m feeling. I don’t know of anyone who is better at this than Liz, other than maybe professional counselors. 

There is a special place in Liz’s heart for cheese, Southerners, dogs, California, my cats, Harry Potter, and processed food. She loves learning about other cultures, especially those in the Middle East; she’s passionate about learning what makes people tick. She sports purple-streaked hair with pride, and she has one of the best laughs I’ve ever heard. She’s one of my very best friends, and I love her.

Breaking the Statue of Secrecy

Why yes, that is a chocolate frog behind my foot. Thank you for asking.

On March 24, my happy feet took me to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, where I managed to spend around eight hours in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter park. I guess I should say “we”, because I did this together with Windy, my BFF from college.

Windy introduced me to the literary masterpiece that is the Harry Potter series when we were sophomores in college. She picked it up while recovering from surgery and promptly passed it on to me. Ten years later, I was given tickets to the theme park for my 30th birthday. Andy and I planned the trip to Florida, and it turned out that Seth and Windy were able to take some time away from their jobs as campus ministers to join us. As luck would have it, our trip fell during the week of Windy’s 30th birthday as well. It seemed only fitting that we should experience the park together.

Suffice it to say that the we let our Harry Potter Nerd Factor grow to a level that would have been socially unacceptable in any other environment. I’m not going to describe the whole thing because this isn’t a travel blog, and the Nerd Factor isn’t for the faint of heart. The nutshell version is that the park was wonderful. The attention to detail was extraordinary, the rides were thrilling, and the technology made everything extremely realistic. Even the food was superb. Over the course of the day we had shepherd’s pie, cornish pasties, fish and chips, and of course Butterbeer and pumpkin juice.

But honestly, the time with Windy was the thing that made the day absolutely perfect, and not just because she enjoys Harry Potter. Windy and I get each other in a way that means we don’t have to do a lot of explaining. We share a love for literature, funny stories, people, and ministry. I understand her passion for campus ministry. She understands my passion for Australia. We both have a similar love/hate relationship with fundraising. We don’t have to tone down our biting sarcasm around one another (not that we ever tone it down for others). She didn’t mind my need to take pictures of every single thing. I didn’t mind her need to stay out of the sun. I can talk to Windy about literally anything, which is unusual for me. I’m normally a slow starter where deep conversation is concerned.

Harry Potter. Good friends. Butterbeer mustaches. Life doesn’t get much better than that.

Kayaking

Kayaking makes my feet happy.

Last month Andy and I took a vacation to Florida. It was glorious. I don’t want to get into it too much because I took several pictures of my happy little feet, so there will be several posts that involve this trip. Anyway, on our second day we visited Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, where we rented a tandem kayak and took a little trip down the river. In the few hours that we spent on that beautiful river, I made an important discovery about myself:

I love kayaking.

It was so peaceful. Being in such a tiny little boat puts you very close to the water. I think it’s probably the closest you can get without actually swimming. The water was so clear that you could see straight to the bottom, and the wildlife along the way was plentiful. It was wonderful for Andy and I to have time together where our conversation wasn’t dominated by what we needed to accomplish that day, or what time we would each be home, or what we needed to buy at the grocery, etc. Not having a phone, iPod, or laptop attached to our hips was pretty nice too.   

I imagine that kayaking isn’t necessarily the best activity for people watching, but there was plenty of that on this trip. And let me tell you, these people were interesting. Sometimes they were obnoxious. Sometimes their swimwear was inappropriate. Sometimes they had incredibly awkward conversations despite the fact that my husband and I were in a small vessel only a few feet away. But ultimately, they were all really nice people who were there for the same reason as us: to enjoy each other, and to enjoy the great outdoors. And honestly, these people were very interesting. One older gentleman commented that gas prices wouldn’t be an issue if someone would invent a car that could run on his excess ear wax. Another young girl squealed every time she saw a bug. Keep in mind that we were in Florida. In the spring. On the water. All of those variables equal up to the fact that there were a lot of bugs...and lots of squealing.

Despite the squeaky, bug-fearing adolescent, Andy and I had a wonderful time. We couldn’t believe how much we enjoyed ourselves. I guess we had such high expectations for the rest of our week, that something as simple as kayaking didn’t seem like it would be such an amazing thing. But it was. It SO was. The tranquility and time together was a much-needed respite from our crazy lives. I see a lot more kayaking in our future.