The Friday Five (Senses).

This Friday I'm switching it up and channeling my friend and mentor Rosie Molinary, whose Friday reflections tend to take sensory form (and wind down with some wishes). I'd love to hear the best parts of your week, five senses or not. Share away, and happy Friday, y'all!

This week, here's some of what I've been...

Tasting: Sean's blueberry + pecan pancakes; tomato + goat cheese + basil sandwich and homemade potato chips from Saba; chicken tacos; veggie pizza from Pizza Bella + a chocolate sea salt King of Pops; lemon tea; peach + pineapple + blueberries + raspberries for breakfast (I'm already dreading the end of summer fruit season).

Hearing: Thunder and pouring rain, hallelujah! A wonderful phone catch up with my friend Carrie out in California; fascinating life stories from my memoir client; ideas for a high school reunion; my pastors' laughter; "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" echoing through the chapel. (I'm behind on FLOTUS Carpool Karaoke, but never fear, it's in my weekend plans.)

Smelling: The freshness of rain and cut grass, soap and sweat (this may be turning into Slughorn's Potions class...). 

Seeing: Wonderful friends (got to break bread with Becca, Barbara, and Jessie this week); the pile of papers on my home office desk slowly dissipating; the outside of Leslie Knope's beloved JJ's Diner (it's actually the Landmark Diner in ATL!).

Feeling: Grateful for four parents who we love and enjoy, and who enjoy each other; proud of exercising every day this week (and tired); all the praise hands for Jon Stewart's return; excited to meet my new cousin who was born today (congrats, Simon and Whitney!).

Wishing: For a more peaceful world, and, personally, for a better writing pattern and a bit more inspiration on that front. I did sign up for the September webinar conference from Writing For Your Life, which feels like it will be a good step as fall begins.

The Friday Five: Bear Hug.

Well friends, I think the world could use one of these to the left. (I saw this greeting card in Barnes and Noble the other week and couldn't resist.) Anything good I write feels small, but maybe if I keep writing, the good will grow. I don't know. Anyway. Here are some good parts of this long week.  

1. We got a new (slightly used) couch, for free, and it's a sectional so we both have a spot to lie down, and it's comfy, and cozy, and I don't want to get up. 

2. My friend and coworker brought her one-month old baby boy to visit the office, and it was so wonderful to see her and to finally meet him! It made me thankful (once again) for the sense of community, friendship, and support where I work.

3. A good dinner and catch up with a dear friend.

4. Our office summer potlucks are in full swing, and yesterday we made banana splits.

5. Tonight, finally Friday, husband, homemade pizza and The Wedding Singer.

Those are all small, and short, so I'll add one more: I don't think I could get through these shitty world moments without my community of faith. I'm grateful for the hymns, the prayers, the hugs, the space to both laugh and shed tears, the space and the people that make me believe in something greater than my small self. If you believe in something higher, or if you don't, find a community.

Peace, my friends. And you're all my friends.

Who do I want to be? Who do I need to be?

I walked outside this morning to leave for work and stood on the crack where our carport meets the driveway.

It felt a little like Doc Graham in Field of Dreams crossing from field to gravel, young to old, carefree baseball to life and death.

Who do I want to be today? I asked myself silently as I stood there.

Who do I need to be today? Not for myself, but for others?

Last Saturday we went to Home Depot to get some spare keys made. In the car on the way home, Sean spoke. "Did you notice that the guy talked to us the whole time, but didn't say anything to the black guy before us?"

Yes. I did notice. It takes a few minutes to get keys made. The older white man was silent as he took the keys from the older black man, the only sound the crunching of metal in the machine.

"Hot out there, isn't it?" the white man said as soon as we approached, the black man on his way. "I need to take my walks early these days..."

We would have thought nothing of it except for what had transpired moments before.

Silence. Crunching metal.

Who do I want to be? Who do I need to be?

I am a white woman and I know it. I'm trying to actively work with that, piece by piece, layer by layer, day by day. A blog post won't change much of anything, I know. Especially a short one that I still took two hours to write.

But maybe the questions that I asked myself this morning, at the edge of my carport, on the edge of a new day that two black men and five law enforcement officers couldn't wake up to see--maybe those are good questions to ask every morning.

Who do I want to be? Who do I need to be?

Not for myself, but for others?

I write a lot of words, but more and more, I feel like speaking them face to face is even better. Even if I stutter or stammer or mess up. And so I hugged my black friends and coworkers today. I told them I was with them. I heard some of their stories. We'll share more in the days to come.

And in these moments, when I worked for who I wanted and needed to be for others, I found that I also became who I wanted and needed to be for myself. 

"On days like this, it feels like our compassion is the only thing we can control." -- Clint Smith