The saddest thing in the world

I have a good friend who loves to ask me hypothetical and philosophical questions (mostly to divert the conversation from talking about himself, but perhaps he also genuinely wants to hear what I have to say; I guess only time will tell). The other night, he asked me what in this world made me saddest. After bantering about why in the world he would want to know the key to making me as sad as possible, I finally settled back and thought of my serious answer.

Spontaneity, Solitude and Starlight

There are few things in life as calming to me as a clear sky on a summer night in the mountains of Tennessee. Tonight, as I was driving home, I had the sudden urge to see the stars, so I kept driving. I drove about 45 minutes to Chilhowee and wound my way up to my favorite overlook.

Never go back the way you came

It was a cool night in Cleveland, and the greenway was beginning to darken rapidly as the sun set on the western horizon. The electric lights left a haze in the air as a friend of mine and I stumbled upon a new section of the paths that neither of us had ever explored. 


We walked for a little while, simply taking in the amusements to be found along the new path (various exercise stations that made for great fun and hilarious photos). As we started to head back to our car, we spotted one more path we'd never taken and decided to see where it led. 


We emerged on one of the main streets in Cleveland, just a few blocks from the parking lot from which we had started. It was a much shorter walk than the meandering paths we'd left behind, so we started walking down the bustling street. 


As we started walking, we talked about what we'd learned about the greenway that night, and our conversation arrived at an interesting consensus that I've thought about a lot since that night: Never go back the way that you came.

Parcheesi'd

Playing Catch-Up: A Year in Review

In the past 10 months since I last posted on this blog, a lot has happened. Consider this the "catch-up post" that will allow me to start sharing my stories and lessons and musings again, now that life is finally getting back to normal and I can actually spend time writing again (Praise the Lord!).

Many significant things have happened, but there are 5 important ones that will be flavoring my stories from this time forward, as they have changed my life completely.

Following the Yellow Lines of Life

I love rain. It's fun dance in. It's a perfect veil under which to crying. It can be as soothing as a mother's lullaby yet it is powerful enough to change the entire landscape in which we live. But the thing I love most about rain is I always seem to learn something from it, and tonight's rainstorm was no exception.

Valentine's Day

I've never really understood how the martyrdom of a saint became a holiday where we buy all of our loved ones copious amounts of flowers, chocolates and heart-shaped antacids that say "Hug Me." But I suppose that stranger things have happened (*cough* Resurrection Sunday and the Easter bunny *cough*).

It is no secret to anyone who has known me for more than a year that I honestly have never liked Valentine's Day. Even in elementary school when we passed out little paper cards and had parties, all the holiday ever did for me was remind me that I was not the popular kid, that I didn't buy the valentines that everyone else thought were cool and that love in this world was full of nasty strings.

One could easily say that I hated Valentine's Day with a relentless passion (slightly ironic, but very truthful), but I guess everything must end eventually. Here I am on February 14, 2011, surprised and yet relieved that I can say that my hatred is gone.

Oh, I'm still very single. I'm still not popular. And I didn't buy a single gift for anyone this year. So what changed?