Friendly Reminders

i just got the following text from my friend, sara...

maybe it was just her being sweet, and maybe it was a friendly reminder to set my alarm clock tomorrow morning.  either way, thank you ra!!!  you da bestest.

Tom Petty Was Right

the waiting really is the hardest part.

my friends sean and mary susan just returned from a trip to ghana where they got to meet the sweet baby girl they will be bringing home in 2012.  

now, they wait.  but waiting is an understatement.  while they anticipate, expect, hang on to their hats, hold on, hole up, keep their shirts on, lie low, look forward to, sit tight... wait for the day they can bring her home, we pray.  may she feel loved.  may she feel safe.  may she feel wanted.

29

this week i turned 29.  i'm not really sure how that happened.  i JUST finished college in boston.  i JUST signed my first publishing deal.  i JUST felt weird about turning 25 because it meant that i really had to get a handle on this whole grown up thing. 

a few months ago i started putting together a "30 before 30" list.  basically a bucket list of sorts with things i want to be able to say that i've done before that big, ugly number attaches itself to my name.  there are big ticket items like "mission trip to africa" and "sky diving" and then there are a handful of smaller ones like "food fight in a public place" (you know you want in on that one).  somewhere around #20 on my list i started having a hard time coming up with things to include.  this got me thinking.   i might have already knocked some of this stuff out... i mean, i got to do some pretty amazing things this last year.  some more obvious than others and some that would have never crossed my mind to include in such a list.

while i don't necessarily love that i now regularly discuss how fast the years are going by, i am thankful that my 29th year here allowed me to be a part of the following:

- i went cliff jumping.  and i can't wait to go again.

- i bookended a gig in northern california with a trip by myself to napa valley.  i stayed in calistoga, watched a sunrise AND a sunset, ate an amazing meal at JoLe, and spent 2 hours in the spa.  i also said "yes, just me" more times than i care to count.

-  i went to NYC at Christmas time.  it was pure magic.

- i held 8 pounds of pure happiness and celebrated preston adeline insogna's safe arrival with my friends jonny and liz.

- i cried for 15 straight minutes on the phone when my friend mary susan called to tell me that she and her husband were finally matched with a baby in ghana that they will be bringing home in the new year.  sweet baby abi, i can't wait to meet you!

- i popped the cork on a bottle of champagne.  by myself.  it's the little things...

- i got to explore west texas.  spent a long weekend in marfa, tx and felt like i was living in an episode of friday night lights.  success.

- i watched a handful of old movies.  "your girl is lovely, hubbell".

- i started keeping a prayer journal and discovered that starting my days on both my front porch swing and a note of gratitude is really good for me.

- i started a rock band with some of my favorite friends and the best musicians i know.  world, you betta watch out for jameson!!!!!

- i had the privilege of helping a very special friend navigate her way through her final days of a long and grievous battle with cancer.  it was the most cruel and beautiful thing i have ever been a part of.  she changed the shape, size, and condition of my heart.

- my mom came to visit me in nashville.  i love getting to see her without having to pack a suitcase.

- i spent 2 full uninterrupted days at a beautiful house in monteagle, tennessee with 10 of my girlfriends.  top of a mountain + sweatpants + home cooked meals + wine = perfection.

- i spent a ridiculous amount of money on a pair of shoes that i didn't need.  everyone needs to do that once, right?  shhhhhh... that's what I'm telling myself.

- i got to see my oldest and best friend in the world 6 times this year.  that's a record breaker in the decade that i have lived anywhere from a 14-26 hour drive away from her.

lucky girl, party of 29 year old me.

joe james

for a year and a half the first of my younger brothers, joe, lived with me here in nashville.   my dad helped him move in and gave us 4 days before he predicted bloodshed.  based on our relationship in high school this prediction was not too far off base.  we proved him wrong.  we didn't get into it until the week he was moving back to minnesota.  you know... bickering in front of our friends about trivial things while they all laughed understanding that we were fighting because because he was moving away and it made both of us sad and we just didn't recognize it blah blah blah.

for the last 2 months he has been back here in nashville launching a new office for his company.  i have loved having one of my best friends close by again.  it really is a very cool thing to get to do life with your sibling when you are both adults.  he is a funny, intelligent, well traveled, open minded, curious, loud, independent, caring man and i am proud to call him both family and friend.

i love you baby brudder.  nashville and i will miss you.  again.

how do you say 30 in mexican?

saturday we celebrated my friend Jason's 30th birthday and surprised him with a white mariachi band, texas college football, a smoked pork shoulder, a lot of tequila and a little projectile vomiting.  because nothing says celebration like projectile vomiting (said vomiter will remain nameless to ensure that we continue to be friends in the hope that i will get to witness them do this again).

here are a couple shots from years past... it's amazing how much we have and haven't grown up.

happy 30th birthday, jas.  

nashville would be a different place for me without you in it.