"We laugh to remind ourselves that we are not machines. . . Laughter is our very protest against a tragic world. . . ."

So much happens in just a few days around here. We have co-mingled lives and they are heavy and poignant. So much happens.

The Beehive Collective came, represented by David. The turn out was small at the actual presentation but the experience was perfect and I think enough people came. Our little knot of individuals sat close and nodded vigorously. My sister, brother, and his girlfriend came down. I don't think that they actually enjoyed or agreed very much at all, but it was nice to see them and, actually, kind of nice to have a dissenting voice. Later, David wandered Waco. We showed him the farm and he spent a while talking with our village store interns who were really excited about selling posters and things. This is good. After that, TJ took him out to the remains of the branch davidians, who are apparently living and well. And fascinating.

THEN, we all met at Bangkok (the favorite restaurant), all thirty of us, and waited for Justin to show up with Jessica which he did. And then he proposed. And they are engaged. And we all celebrated with dinner. And good times.

Then, I met up with my new friend Matt for what, it turns out, was our first date. Or something similar. I am pondering this new situation.

Then! I got a text message very early this morning saying my best friend had just gone into labor with her first child. No word yet on that one. I've heard these things can take time. But, ideally, by tonight we will have a new baby boy to celebrate.

This has been a heavy, busy two days and it promises to be a similarly crazy weekend.

Life! We are living.

Autumnal

I am sleeping under blankets again. Weather is so fluxiuary in Texas (take that Steven Colbert or G.W. Bush). It was 80 degrees at 2pm today and then by 4:30pm it was 61. It is the season of multiple light layers or a change of clothes constantly on hand.

There are a lot of small things happening. Joyful dances, good dinners, intentional communing, harvests, funerals (a raccoon got one of our chickens), homecomings, blossoms, bees, bounty, color, space, laughter, children, and wind. Lots of small things. My life is an obvious sum of its parts. I am very glad. I think a lot of people strive for that sort of life.

I am finding a lot of joy in freerice.com. They have several trivia type pages which allow you to donate rice through the UN by your right answers. One of the trivia pages is on artistic masterpieces. It may sound silly but even this small addition to my life makes me deeply joyful. These paintings have been speaking to peoples souls for hundreds of years. They speak to mine now. I am learning.

Roommate Kris is home from California finally. I missed him. We are still working our research job for Baylor with very little enthusiasm. Its a disheartening project. We will keep on, I suppose.

All of the sudden I see myself with adult friends. I know this sounds silly. I am twenty five. My friends have three, four, and five year old children. We quite obviously have been adults for a while. It is just recently that I feel like an adult in my church, and adult in my work (at least one of them), and an adult within my friends.

I'm not going to talk about politics, though I feel like I could. There is a lot of dissension amongst the people that I love. I am voting early, voting strongly, feeling very content in my choice, but I am hoping that, once this is all over in a couple weeks, we wont have to talk about it anymore.

The Gates

I lived in Philadelphia when this show was in Central Park.
An hour train ride away.

You cannot imagine the depths of my regrets.