we can be…intense.
in Funny Stuff, Loved Ones, Thoughts and Feelings
as candy, dodgeball, family, Farms, glasses, hot dogs, hunt, Jess, jonathan, late night, mine, pink dress, reason, Repeatedly, siblings, sort, spending, spending time, suitors, time, way
I spent some time with a brother of mine tonight.
It was really good.
It’s easy to take it for granted when you’re little.
Spending time together, I mean.
But then you become what the world likes to call grown up.
You don’t see each other with bed head nearly as often anymore.
You don’t get as many late night talks.
You don’t sing songs to your parents about how they broke your tv.
Sometimes being grown up is sad.
And it’s definitely not the way we thought it would be.
We always dreamt of being able to drive.
For pretty much one reason alone.
“Cause then we’d go to Landhope Farms all the time and get as much candy and hot dogs as we want!” we promised each other.
I’m sort of glad that didn’t come true.
Turns out I don’t want as much candy and as many hot dogs as I thought I did, after all.
But, like I said, it was really good to be with each other.
And he sure does make me laugh.
“It must be so weird!” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“Being single.”
“I guess…” I acknowledged.
“Are you, like, just always on the hunt? Always thinking of every guy you meet as a potential, you know, guy for you?”
“Hmmm…sort of…but that sounds more intense than it really is, I think.”
“But, Jess,” he said, “You always have to bring your A game–I mean, it’s like a constant interview process for you!”
…
Well, thanks, Jonathan–cause, if it wasn’t before, well, now it’s weird!
Just kidding.
I just think he’s funny.
And intense.
It tends to run in my family.
Did I mention playing dodgeball out in California with a couple siblings of mine?
We played mostly with kids.
And, let’s just say I sure didn’t mind informing seven year olds when I got them out.
Informing them repeatedly.
Or at least until they walked off the court.
CAUSE THE GIRL IN THE PINK DRESS AND GLASSES WAS OUT, GOSHDARNIT!
We had a good laugh over that.
Like I said, intense.
And I can assure you, I brought my A game to dodgeball.
But it had nothing whatsoever to do with possible suitors and everything to do with possibly winning.
the perfect kind of day.
in Loved Ones, photography, Thoughts and Feelings
as Adorable, beach, boogie boarding, Britain, Canada, head dance, hunt, jenna, Monica Promenade, monkey, mountain, mountain lions, North Carolina, sand, t mountain, twin babies
I was running by myself this morning.
You know, in the mountains.
And I passed that sign again–the one about the mountain lions that hunt in the area. Okay, so it didn’t say hunt, but that was the point. And then I read that you shouldn’t hike alone and I thought, Ohhhhh shoot. Cause I was totally alone.
And then I abruptly turned around and headed back to my family’s house. Where there aren’t mountain lions and where I am not alone. But I didn’t get there before every little squirrel that happened by scared me, cause I was sure that it was something not nearly so innocuous.
I usually pride myself on not feeling very afraid of nature, but it seems you hear enough about the folk singer getting eaten by coyotes in Canada and the little twin babies getting mauled by a fox in Britain and the lady getting struck by lightening and killed in North Carolina, and suddenly my imagination goes a little wild when I’m by myself and outside.
Not head dance wild, but wild, nonetheless.
Anyway.
Today was the kind of day that is gonna make me sleep and sleep right well tonight.
We went to the beach and the weather! oh, it was divine. The sun was not shy at all and there was a slight breeze and enough warm sand to keep you from being cold. Especially when a small boy accidentally dumps a whole shovel-full of sand right on your head. Just like you are simply the beach and a little bit more sand moved around when there’s already tons there is no big deal. But instead you are a person and now your scalp is covered in enough sand to make you wonder if you should perhaps suggest that some people park their umbrella right here, right on your noggin, should the beach get too crowded.
But really, it was just funny. And gave me even more incentive to get in that water. Which I did, along with my boogie-boarding peers, Jase and Lyric.
And man, was it fun.
And man, does a wetsuit really make a difference in terms of actually being able to stay and enjoy the ocean cause look! my teeth aren’t chattering and oh! I can feel my legs and haven’t yet lost a toe from frostbite.
We caught some glorious waves and were not caught by any glorious sharks, so win win.
For us, though. Probably not the sharks.
And then we went riding around on bikes, which was, in plain old English, a blast.
Except for the part when a lot of people around here see the words BIKE PATH and, though they have no bike at all, proceed to stroll on it. Luckily Jenna was with us and she has no problem at all with reminding them of the meaning of those two words; that there’s a lot of beach all around that is perfectly useful for walking on, whereas bikes really cannot ride on the sand, so please–MOVE.
But really, it was lovely.
And you’re probably thinking, whoa! that sounds like an amazing day. The only thing that could make it any better is a monkey…
And you’re right.
Which is why, upon my brother’s urging (and funding, I may add), I decided to shake a monkey’s hand on the Santa Monica Promenade. Again. I had already done this magical thing once before, but when it comes to shaking this monkey’s hand–once is never enough.
Trust me.
But don’t take my word for it–take a look for yourself.
*and please pay no mind to the fact that I am dressed like a wannabe ninja, thankyouverymuch.
**and please DO pay mind to the fact that the monkey tips his hat after he shakes my hand. Adorable.
journeying
in Loved Ones, photography, Thoughts and Feelings
as bamboo forrest, brother, brother jason, geocaching, glorious triumph, God, hunt, Jason, jenna, nieces and nephews, outdoors, pennsylvania, sister jenna, strider, today, treasure, yeah
Being well is really great. It means that your husband stops with the water intake interrogations. That you are once again allowed to clean your house. That you can hug your nieces and nephews. And oh yeah, that you can go geocaching. It’s alright, until my brother explained it to me, I didn’t know what [...]
