Adventure is Out There!

It's the moments like these that I almost miss. The moments that you walk right through because there doesn't seem to be anything momentous or significant in them. But those moments happen. Washing dishes, I realized I was happy. Content. Don't be thinking I love washing dishes, because those people are few and in between. I am most definitely a dryer. But I'm happy. My life is good, genuinely good. And it's this moment, this moment of good that I need to remember, to hold onto when life seems to crumble. There is peace in knowing life is good, in stepping back and smiling at your life. That despite the heartache, the grief, the pains, it is good in the end. Life is good. a throwback to my days in Tuscany

I stepped from one world to the next: sunny Miami to snow-covered Maryland. At first, I dreaded it. Every day, I joked how I could never leave Miami. I didn't want to return to , cold steering wheels, frozen windshields, a drafty apartment, chapped lips, red faces. Then, it snowed... and I couldn't help but smile. I'm left in awe by the beauty of it all! By the graceful fall of snowflakes, the quiet of the woods.. by the outline of the trees and the occasional splash of red berries. This isn't new to me; Miami was a vacation. I've grown up in Maryland and snow is no stranger. Yet. It is new. As my boots crunch in the snow, I turn into a three-year-old with the goofiest smile imaginable. It's plastered on my face. I look up, squinting at the bright, white sky trying to pinpoint a snowflake to catch. Then I remembered, I remembered something my friend had asked me. "Have you ever seen a snowflake? An individual, beautiful snowflake?"

I'm sitting here watching the twinkles of car lights on I-695. The lights on I-695 E are inching by while the lights on I- 695 W quickly disappear in the other direction. Each pair of headlights and brake lights is a car, a car with one, two, maybe five people in it. People that don't even know I've spotted their car from up here. People with lives, lives of their own. People with lives filled with heartache, tears, loss, failure. People with those same lives filled also with love, laughs, new life, and success. So many lives, just passing left or right on the high way, heading who knows where. Unaware of this weird girl up on the hill pondering. Do you ever do that? Instead of seeing cars around you on the highway do you ever wonder about the drivers? About the kids in the back with their faces fogging up the windows? Each car holds a story. There are so many stories that my story sometimes feels insignificant. Like right now, my story doesn't feel so muc

Cold rain can be miserable. Especially if it combines with the lingering snow and slush that's already there. Especially if the air around you feels like your freezer. Yet. If you take a moment, the quickest of moments to stand and linger, to look up to the sky and feel the drops on your skin, maybe it's not so miserable. Maybe it's refreshing. Then again, you can wait for that sunny tomorrow.

The Before. Before the wrapping paper is ripped. Before the doorbell rings. Before the phone rings. Before the plane arrives. Before the toaster dings. Before they walk through the door. Life is full of anticipation. It seems obvious, but until recently I hadn't realized just how  much anticipation fills each of our cups of life. We tend to forget that sensation of anticipation once it's over. We forget because we become swept away. A week ago I sat in a room and listened to a speaker equate joy to anticipation. He wasn't happy with "Happy New Year" because he thought we should wish each other joy, joy found in the anticipation of Christ. The more I reflected on his words, the more I realized just how right he was. First of all, if you look up a synonym for the word "anticipation," you'll find joy. So there's that. But okay. Honestly, just think back to a time that you were waiting for something. Be it a vacation, a birthday, a h

When you think about it, life's full of people. Yes, not mind-blowing. It's a pretty obvious fact. Moments that stick out don't usually involved me going solo. I wonder if the people in my life know that... If they know that they hold that place, that little reserved spot. Even strangers, I wish I could take a step back through my timeline sometimes and just say, "Thanks for making me smile." Which brings me to today. Weeks ago I was plagued by a nuisance of a flat tire and adopting four new tires. Since this lovely ordeal I have since been prodding my tires every now and then before I take off. Today, in this inhuman cold, they looked funky. Funky meaning deflated. Funky meaning Rachael is worried her tires are already giving up on her. So then I'm off, off to the Honda Service Center, with people that were just so very "helpful." Then I'm off to Shell, hoping they have someone on staff to just check, please check my tire pressure so I

I sit here and think to myself, don't write it. The words don't seem to exist. How can I piece it together, describe it? It won't sound right. I've thought about this post over and over again in my head. Words seem too small, too insignificant, but I'm writing it. I'm doing it. I'll just say the almost unbearable. Buffy's gone. She had been sick for a couple months now. I had actually come home over a month ago when it seemed like she might not make it. But she did. Our family was together for Thanksgiving, Christmas, even into 2015. This past Saturday was the day. She is a dog. Okay, I know some of you won't understand because it looks like she is just a dog, a pet, we can just buy another one. That is honestly as far from the truth as you can go. She is a dog, yes, but she became such an interwoven thread in our family.  She's my sister. My parents brought her home when I was in first grade. I was what, a couple feet tall? Ohmy