Just wanted to check in and let you know: No, I didn't forget about you.
A friend of mine is participating in The Great Photo Scavenger Hunt, and I figured I would join in on the fun.
When school finished up for the semester, I should have started blogging more. Instead, I stopped completely. I won't try to make excuses for why this happened, but I will say that this summer has been busier than I had ever expected it to be. Good busy, fun busy... but busy, nonetheless.
What have I been busy with? Oh, a little bit of everything. Working about 3 days a week at a job that I love. Catching up with friends for lunch or coffee dates. Going to Twins games. And, well, I've also kept myself busy with a few other things...
I love Minnesota Twins baseball. I always have, and always will. As a young girl, I remember watching games with my Grandma, hearing her scream and yell whenever Kirby Puckett or Kent Hrbek made an amazing play. As a fifth grader, I remember sitting in the cheap seats in left field at the Metrodome, yelling marriage proposals at the gorgeous Marty Cordova. (At least he was gorgeous in my fifth grade mind... maybe I should take a look at pictures again sometime.) As a freshman in college, I remember watching post-season play in my college dorm, wishing and hoping and praying for the Twins to keep advancing in the playoffs.
I am just about a week away from finishing another semester of college. It is my last semester of actual classes, as all that is left is student teaching in the fall. This term is pretty much over already, actually, with only a few small assignments remaining to complete and turn in.
Then, it's summer.
Summer should be good to me this year. Though I'll be working some, it will most likely only be one or two days a week. So, it's looking like 3 months of play before embarking on the last 3 1/2 months of my college (well, undergraduate) career.
Because simply "playing" all summer is probably unacceptable in the eyes of my friends who don't get summer vacations, I have decided to make some goals of things that I plan to (wish to...) accomplish this summer.
Here is the beginning of my list... We'll see how this goes:
1. Host a BBQ at my house.
2. Go to a Saints game.
3. Take (and pass!?) all three Praxis licensure exams.
4. Drive to Rochester to see Eva.
5. Send a personal letter to each of my friends who will be working at camp.
6. Go to Canterbury Park.
7. Get portfolio as complete as possible.
8. Enjoy fellowship with friends at Twins games.
9. Read at least one book by C.S. Lewis.
10. Read as many Maud Hart Lovelace nominees as possible.
11. Watch fireworks.
12. Go camping.
13. Leave the state of Minnesota.
14. Go to the beach.
15. Finish a quilt top.
16. Become a runner.
17. See Steve and Laura.
18. Go to the Quarries.
19. Meet Mya Kaye Dannen
20. Write letters that are long overdue.
Every once in a while, or whenever my heart so leads, I am going to post about a person who brings a glimpse of beauty to my life. This person may be a part of my life currently, or it may be a person from my past whose memory brings beauty still, after many years have passed.
Today, this person is my beautiful friend Eva.
I have known Eva for years. (I still laugh when I think about my first memory of her... but for her sake, we'll leave that one unspoken, for now.) After working together at camp for several years, we got to know each other pretty well. But, it wasn't until I was blessed to be part of a Bible Study with Eva that I would say we became close friends.
She challenges me, supports me, calls me out on things, and loves me unconditionally. She brings out the best in me, when all I see in myself is the worst. She can always make me laugh, even through tears. Her passion for Christ and missions encourages me. She sends me cookies that only I would understand :) And, I can always (well, almost always) count on her special and unique birthday greeting.
