What did I do this weekend???

ALL of Season 1 with a certain blonde who shall remain nameless. *cough*Lauren*cough*  I wish I was more ashamed than I am, but I’m not.

Who would have known decor found within the aisles of Target wasn’t for educational purposes.  Guess Mom won’t be using this for her 7th grade class.

For the past two weeks I’ve been walking through each day with a hidden heavy heart, an unspoken, unshared sadness.  Nothing’s amiss in my world.  No, this heartache stems from the hurts and worries of people I love.  Within the span of three hours two weeks ago, three of my closest friends called or emailed asking me to pray for them.  Of course, they had to call when my world was at its most chaotic, at times when I had to let the call roll to voicemail to listen to at a later time.  I can’t even express the pain that filled me when I heard their voices and knew I wasn’t there for them, didn’t respond when they had reached out and couldn’t at midnight as I drove home from work.  Each told of a story that brought me to tears:  a husband who had cheated and whispered the words, “I don’t love you”, a new pregnancy and a prayer for a happier ending than the last, a sick child needing surgery and scared, young parents.  I responded to each of them the next morning promising to lift each of their struggles up to the One who loves them more than I could but haven’t been able to shake the magnitude of the battle each are fighting.

For days amidst the craziness of freshmen move-ins, tech support, walkie-talkies, and thousands of text messages about dorm rooms with bad jacks and no wireless signal, I’ve been thinking about perspective.  Sure, I was knee-deep in 16+ hour work days and hadn’t seen my house in the daylight in far too long.  Yeah, I was exhausted and tired of a long list of nouns (people, places, and things), but I knew that these struggles were trivial in comparison to what my friends were going through.  A wise friend once told me, “Sorrows are never meant to be compared.  Every hurt and mountain to climb is personal to each individual, and we aren’t in a pain competition.”  He was right, but part of caring for one another is feeling each other’s wounds and standing behind those you love in case they fall even if you can’t say I’ve been there or I know what you’re going through.  The human experience is so much more about compassion than competition.  I’ll be the first to admit that every once in a while I get caught up in my own drama bubble, but it doesn’t take long to remember who and what truly matters in this world.  Those are the things that touch your heart, leave you awake at night, and bring you the most joy.  You see, it’s all about perspective.

Law And Order fans, rejoice!  Benjamin Bratt is back in a big way in his new show The Cleaner.  Based on the true story of William Banks, a recovering addict who after a deal with God spends his life helping other addicts break their addiction and change their lives, Bratt is brilliant in a way you wouldn’t expect on A&E.  Each episode tells a story of how Banks and his group of misfit recovering addicts work to save the lives of those who are teetering on the the edge while Banks struggles to keep his family together.  Great acting and strong story lines have made this a must-see for me each Tuesday night.  Plus, the music is amazing!

This week’s episode featured a song by the acoustic duo Karmina.  Unknown to me until a little help from Google, this song has been the backdrop to my week.  Originally, I considered attaching this song to tomorrow’s post, but each deserve a moment of their own.  So for today’s musical offering I present “Walk You Home” by Karmina with its powerful lyrics, and truly hope each of you have someone who would sing this song to you no matter what struggle you’re facing.

Slow down, what’s on your mind
It’s alright, I’m on your side
I hate to see your injury, I wish that you could transfer all
your pain to me
Stay here, it’s ok to cry
Let me, help you make it right
Let’s turn up our radio, let the bands remind you that you’re not
alone
We all get low

Even the brave may depend on someone
The moon only shines with the help of the sun
It’s not as safe when you’re walking alone
I’ll walk you home

Suns out, but it feels like rain
So I will illuminate your day
I’m afraid I’m losing it, what’s it gonna take for me to get
through this
We’ll get through this

Even the brave may depend on someone
The moon only shines with the help of the sun
It’s not as safe when you’re walking alone
I’ll walk you home

Need the band to play the song
Someone’s had to keep you strong
It’s harder when your on your own
Success is not the same alone
Can’t have up without a down
Need the straight to have the round
I’ll provide the harmony
Your song is best accompanied

Late, late, late Friday night Zac and Victoria arrived on my doorstep for a weekend full of introducing her to our favorite places in Flagstaff and hanging out with all of our friends.  Amazingly enough after her 60 hours in Flagstaff, none of our ‘eccentric’ friends had caused too much of a scene, and Flagstaff had a new fan.  Of all of the pics we took over the span of three days, these are my favorite.

Sometime on Saturday Zac asked me if I would mind taking a picture of Z and V together to prove that they had ‘dated’.  Victoria wasn’t too pleased that he had phrased the question in the past tense.  “Don’t you mean dating?” she asked.

The story behind this picture taken from inside my car involves a man stumbling across the road before passing out, my friends and I convinced he was dead, Joe playing ‘tough man’ and giving relationship advice, Zac trying desperately not to laugh, and the rest of us laughing til we cried.

Zac’s always been photogenic.  I’m not too sure Victoria was that impressed.

Somewhere on a back country road this past weekend, we found ourselves gifted with this backdrop. It always amazes me how a scene like this can unfold and then disappear in seconds as the sun finally goes fades away.  You just hope that you can slow the car down and grab your camera before it’s too late.

When I was five I told my mom I wanted to either teach math at Harvard or be a beautician, somehow I’ve come semi-full circle from the child hood dreams since I work at the ‘Harvard of the Big Sky Division’ and now cut my guy friend’s hair.  Jeff stopped in today for a quick trim, and I did a pretty sweet job.  I just wish I had 30% of the hair that he did.