So, it's raining...

Did you notice it's like a monsoon outside?

Last week I left my umbrella in court. I walked from my office to the parking garage and was so wet, there is an wet imprint in the driver's seat in my car. When I got home, I hung my clothes in the shower and they were still dripping. Wow. And I was freezing.

But, then I got into some sweats...and seriously, is there anything better than being super comfy and listening to the rain outside?

I'm kind of looking forward to crawling into bed and falling asleep to the rain beating on my windows. (*pending, of course, that it stops by 6AM so I can get my run in*)

4 more days 'til the weekend.

6 more days 'til the Steelers beat the Bengals.

Things Change

So, I'm not so good at keeping up my blog anymore. But, I like the idea of something kind of keeping track of my thoughts/what I'm doing with my life...it's kind of like a public diary. And I guess it's the whole "public" aspect that keeps me from writing much. I'm nervous I'll say something potentially career-harmful. I guess I will just write with fear...

So, yea, the blog might take a little different look. It might not be as personal...but, I'm going to try to keep it semi-updated with what is going on in my life, mostly because I like having a record of it!

Record Breaking

The forecast today suggested Cincinnati might break the record for highest temperature. It got pretty hot. Although, to be honest, my office is freezing, so unless it's super hot in the morning when I'm walking in or in the evening when I'm leaving, I don't notice too much.

But, I'll tell you what...I am so ready for fall. I'm ready for chilly evenings, pumpkins, trick-or-treaters, throwing on a sweaters, the changing colors of leaves, not sweating while walking from my office to the courthouse, sitting outside on a chilly day with a pumpkin spice latte, and of course, candy corn. Fall is definitely my favorite season.

I think George Eliot said it best:

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.

A Fresh Perspective

A close family friend has been diagnosed with cancer. Cancer is such a generic word. But, this kind of cancer is very serious. It's rare and there isn't a standard course of treatment. So this man was given statistics and different prognoses depending on which treatment he and his doctor selected. It's a grave situation. While there is definitely reason to hope (the man is in amazing shape, the doctor has a lot of faith in the course of treatment he is undergoing, etc.), he is also facing what will likely be the hardest few months of his life.

Last week I was on my way to visit him at the hospital during his first cycle of treatment. The whole way there I kept thinking I didn't know what I would say. I didn't know how to seem hopeful without seeming trite and patronizing. And then I realized none of that mattered.

We started talking and he shocked me by saying "cancer started a new life for me." He continued talking about how he would probably never keep stuff again and that he has a whole new/different perspective on things. And so much that mattered to him a month ago just seemed ridiculous. When I left there, I felt like he had given me hope...not the other way around.

When I got home from the beach this past summer, I was committed to not just surviving my days, but actually living them. But it's funny how routine and schedules and stuff just gets in the way. All of a sudden I'm back to the same old and my life is being measured in meetings, money, success at work, and the same junk that is completely circumstantial.

What does it take for us to get it? Why is it so hard to be adventurous and say no to mere basic survival?

When I left the hospital, I couldn't help but think of this U2 song...I just don't want my life to constantly be measured and valued by things that are replaceable, perishable, breakable, etc...

Walk On
-U2

And love is not the easy thing
The only baggage you can bring...
And love is not the easy thing...
The only baggage you can bring
Is all that you can't leave behind

And if the darkness is to keep us apart
And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off
And if your glass heart should crack
And for a second you turn back
Oh no, be strong

Walk on, walk on
What you got they can’t steal it
No they can’t even feel it
Walk on, walk on...
Stay safe tonight

You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been
A place that has to be believed to be seen
You could have flown away
A singing bird in an open cage
Who will only fly, only fly for freedom

Walk on, walk on
What you've got they can't deny it
Can’t sell it, can’t buy it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight

And I know it aches
And your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much
Walk on, walk on

Home... hard to know what it is if you’ve never had one
Home... I can’t say where it is but I know I'm going home
That's where the hurt is

I know it aches
How your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much
Walk on, walk on

Leave it behind
You've got to leave it behind
All that you fashion
All that you make
All that you build
All that you break
All that you measure
All that you steal
All this you can leave behind
All that you reason
All that you sense
All that you speak
All you dress up
All that you scheme...