in love with this song

yay for happy songs

shower epiphany phenomenon

dear love,

i have this weird phenomenon in my life and it happens in the shower. i can't even tell you how many times i'm just taking a shower, minding my own business, and all of a sudden i have the answer to a question i've been wondering about for weeks. i've thought long and hard as to why this even happens and i think i have the answer.

all day long i run from thing to thing. work, school, studying, eating, gym, friends, the boy, church, etc. i rarely have time where my mind can just shut off. in the shower, i've created this habit of thinking of absolutely nothing while i'm in there. they always tell you in yoga to clear your mind and i think the more you think about clearing your mind, the less you do it. the only time i've really been able to have a mind without a million things running through it is in the shower. so that's where i have these amazing realizations.

Here are some examples of things i've realized in the shower:

• one time i realized that a guy i had been dating was TOTALLY two-timing me
• i realized i had to quit my job at the hospital
• great ideas for dinner group have come to me in this manner
• something really personal, let's just say i knew something was going to happen before it did...weird
• i knew that this one person just needed a friend.
• triple date ideas :)
• i've remembered sooo many friends' birthdays the day of

so there you have it. if you ever need an answer to a question, try a shower!

a poem from the past

dear love,

this is a poem my little 9-year-old sister wrote to me last year for my birthday. she was 8 at the time and i think it's pure genius.

I Love You the Yellowest

I love you

love you the wing of a duck,

the song of a bird,

the heat of a hug,

the gold in treasure,

I love you the yellowest

hey, things work out

dear love,

i just wanted to remind you that sometimes you stress and then sometimes everything just works out. it probably won't work out exactly the way you think it will, but it will. then you will look like this. (happy happy happy)

my roommates

dear love,

i just want the world to know that i probably have the most wonderful roommates in the whole world. it's pretty amazing that we can't even go to bed at night because we're so excited to talk about all the wonderful and hard things in life.

one of them has been through it all with me. she was my very first roommate when i moved here and i have learned more from here than i could even begin to write down. there have been countless times she has given words of encouragement, or even just a knowing look that tells me that she understands and that she cares. my favorite thing about her is how big her heart is—she loves everyone and is always pleasant and wonderful. she is the definition of lovely.

then there's the other one...yeah, her. we decided today that we have the most sarcastic relationship in the world. but even with all the fake fighting and constant banter, we still sit down at night and talk about all the things that matter to us. we just get each other. she looks out for me and i for her and if anyone tries to mess i would kill them. (she also really loves murder). i have learned to pay attention to the small things and to see people in a different way because she taught me how. she is the definition of wonderful.

a dream realized

dear love,

i had a really cool experience that i want to share with you. i don't think anything like this has ever really happened to me, and it feels amazing. please excuse the vague-ness—i want to explain this phenomenon without getting all personal.

here's the deal: i've always had this little dream of what a certain thing in my life will be like. i have explained a certain scenario to my closest friends and family, trying to help them see my vision. it's only one small situation, and only serves as an example of the type of thing i imagine which is much bigger and more important than this smaller example. this one little scene always plays through my head as a sort of dream or goal or wish.

the other day, i realized that this little story/scenario i've been telling people about actually happened. from start to finish the scene unfolded the exactly as i imagined. i didn't recognize that it was happening as it was, but when i took a step back and looked at the situation, i saw how much it aligned with my little dream i've always had. even though that one thing is small, it's kind of wonderful that the things we care about enough really can and will transpire if we let them.

hopefully this made sense. the take home message is this: even a simple ordinary person can have dreams realized.

this is how it works

ok so these words have been going through my mind for the past few weeks. this is katherine's favorite song and we listen to it every chance we get. i finally looked up the lyrics of this one part and i think it sums love up perfectly.

No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took

And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood

And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again

i can't even add anything to this. this really is how it works. thanks, reg.