The wedding weekend of my dear friends Kelly and Chris was a huge success! I walked into Nonna's (grandma extraordinaire to the bride) and, per usual, was immediately fed. Any meal at Non's is a meal for an Opportunivore (an explanation of which you can find here). I'm pretty sure I ate my body weight in stromboli. I'm also pretty sure I don't give a damn. I loved heart to hearting with Nonna... The groomsmen were all fun and sweet :) The bride was stunning...
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Oh goodness. They've hatched (you know, the little suckers I talked about here). They've hatched...and...well...they are as hideous as I remember. I love animals, I truly do...but I am having quite the difficult time having anything but cringe/gag/shiver reactions to these weird little creatures. They are not fluffy like baby chicks (who doesn't love a baby chick?) but rather spikey and boney and about as un-cuddly as any animal could possibly be. Behold, Nicky and Alex, children to our pigeon friends Aunt Becky and Uncle Jesse; The darker coloring you see is not soft feathers but rather a briney bone around which their feathers have yet to grow. It gives me the willies just *thinking* about touching them. Woof.
Well, now you've all seen a baby pigeon. Unfortunately. Welcome to the world, Nicky and Alex! Always, Trish The west coast has given me so much over the past few years; new friends, an amazing job, adventures and independence. I'm grateful for my time here and truly love living in this corner of the world. But after spending a few days back in my hometown this weekend I was reminded that there is one thing the west coast can never give me...something beyond the obvious answers of family, childhood friends, history, etc...
Summer nights. June summer nights. That time in the evening when the BBQ dinner plates have been cleared from the porch table. When tummies are full of watermelon, corn on the cob, grilled fish/chicken/beef/veggies...grilled anything, really. That time of sharing popsicle desserts on the front stoop; fingers and lips sticky with the melting flavors of fruit. The bubble blowing and chalk art on the driveway. One last lap around the block on my bike before the sun finishes setting. A few last minutes on the hammock with a book or my sister, swinging in a gentle rhythm. Hide and Seek in the dark with neighborhood friends--racing barefoot to find the best hiding places. Watching the backyard twinkle with the greenish glow of lightening bugs (and the subsequent chasing of these little creatures to fill up a jar). Taking in the occasional thunder storm from the front step; the sky momentarily lighting up the neighborhood, the smell of rain mixed with cooling blacktop and freshly cut grass. "Just 10 more minutes, Mom!". Sleepovers in the clubhouse, scary stories told with flashlights. Taking a shower after a long day at the beach, changing into only an over sized t-shirt while letting my hair hang wet on my shoulders, leaving damp marks just below my collar bone. The lingering smell of sunscreen. Sleeping with the windows open and a fan running; humming a calm tune to accompany the symphony of crickets outside. Using just the sheets--cool, comfortable, soothing. It's true what they say. When we're kids all we want to do is grow up, but once we are grown we pine for the days of worry free play and simple childhood pleasures. I am a true June baby--addicted to the shift in temperature and energy. The rush of the school year slowing down for a few weeks before the real heat of summer swoops in. June has always been my favorite month. It also happens to be my birthday month, so perhaps the rapidly approaching day of turning 27 is why I'm feeling especially nostalgic for my New Jersey June nights. While I know this makes me sound like quite the old lady, I wish that kids would (could?) cherish the days before adulthood more. I wish we would teach them to be present...to be *kids*, first and foremost. I wish we would tell them, as Don Herold said, "If I had my life to live over, I would start barefooted a little earlier in the spring and stay that way a little later in the fall." I'm grateful my parents valued June summer nights as much as I do--that they encouraged my sister and me to find our joy in mud pies, kiddie pools and backyard camping--instead of video games, TV or computers. That they always gave us those "just 10 more minutes". I wish all of this for the children in my life, present and future. I wish them hours of laughter and play outdoors. I wish them grass stained knees, sun kissed skin and salt water tangled hair. I wish them east coast June summer nights. In Gratitude, Trish I snapped this photo 2 days ago, while I was on my impromptu trip to Hawaii (YEP, Hawaii!!). I'd looked at flights for a few months...day dreaming about making a tropical vacation possible. Instead of getting frustrated at airline prices or the lack of free time or calculating and recalculating my budget I decided to just keep picturing myself happily relaxing on a beautiful beach. I knew eventually I'd get there, when the timing was right. And whaddya know...the random opportunity presented itself on Friday night and the next morning I was off for 4 days of sunning with a buddy. Being a "yes" woman certainly has it's benefits... "That which you manifest is before you." - The Art of Racing in the Rain In Gratitude,
Trish While I was walking to an appointment after work last week I caught a glimpse of myself in the reflection of a shop window on busy Market Street. The sun had come out after a rainy morning and the sidewalks were bustling with folks shopping, heading home, catching buses or cabs. I was startled to feel the sudden rush of pride rise up within my chest and the subsequent goofy grin spreading across my face. I thought--here I am, on the cusp of 27, living and working in one of my favorite cities; providing for myself financially, emotionally, spiritually. Here I am--a place I always dreamed of being. A suburban child, grand-daughter to a farmer, living a city gal's life. Even with my make-up free baby face, in my messy pony tail, ripped jeans and cowgirl boots...I looked...grown. Maybe it was because I was riding waves of gratitude and simple happiness. Maybe it was because I had spent the better part of my day consciously releasing negative thoughts and thus arrived at a calm place of understanding for things transpiring in my life...an understanding that really centered around a total *lack* of understanding. "What will be will be", a decision to let go and flow. Or maybe it was because of my latest song obsession serenading me with the lyrics "I know my heart will never be the same, but I'm telling myself I'll be OK...even on my weakest days, I get a little bit stronger". Regardless, there was certainly something changed about me. I look at this face in a mirror every day--I criticize the bump in my nose, the curl of my upper lip when I smile or the crinkle in my forehead beginning to take shape. I sigh in frustration when my hair won't cooperate (does it ever actually cooperate?). I curse my skin for not being more Cover-Girl-radiant. But in that brief glimpse of myself in a shop window I saw only strength. I had, for the first time in a long time, nothing but love for the reflection I saw. I don't want to be afraid to share my joy or my true self. I've realized that each time I sit at my keyboard to share my thoughts--I'm going for it. I've realized I've never been one to play it small. The more suppressed I feel the harder I inevitably come out fighting. I'm pushing the limits of my corner of the world, and you know what? You are all helping me break down these self-imposed limits...you are encouraging me to live bigger. I'd like to encourage you in the same way. We all have gifts to share. We have talents. We have ideas and dreams. Yes--we ALL do. It's often scary as hell to put ourselves out there; to be vulnerable, to take risks. Fears of failure and rejection are powerful forces. But when we deny ourselves the right to express and share our true beings--when we deny these ideas and dreams the right to grow and thrive--we are not just limiting ourselves. We are, in so many ways, denying our communities the gifts of beauty and joy that lie within us. We are essentially saying that what we have to offer, regardless of the size, depth, "importance", is not good enough--when in reality it could be exactly what the world needs. "Say not you cannot gladden, elevate, and set free; that you have nothing of the grace of influence; that all you have to give is at the most only common bread and water..." - Canon George Body. Look--I have no way of knowing what tomorrow will bring. I have no real idea what it is that my message, my mark, my purpose on this planet should be just yet. But I made it here. Here, this place that is often still so unsure. Here, this place where I know in my heart is exactly where I am supposed to be. Each day I get a little bit stronger and when I am blessed with a rare moment of nothing but self love, I'm going to honor it. I don't want to be afraid to share my joy and I don't want you to be afraid, either. "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. " -Edward Everett Hale The next time you look in the mirror, rest assured that the reflection you see is one of strength. It is stronger than you know and capable of big things. Because honestly, exactly who wins when you play it small? Love and Light, Trish |
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