these memories have been on heavy rotation the last few weeks:
waking up early for swim team practice. riding my bike to the pool. getting the courage to dive into the freezing early morning water. grueling laps that made my young muscles weary. returning to the pool in the afternoons, hoping with all our little hearts that mark, one of our coaches, would be the lifeguard on duty. buying surge from the concession stand and waiting eagerly for the ice cream truck to come make its rounds.
swim meets. the colorful flags hanging across the pool. getting hopped up on sugar from the ridiculous amount of sour punch straws we would devour. the pool lights on as we settled on blankets cheering on our teammates watching dusk turn into night in the lovely way it does in the summers.
meeting caitlin at the pool one afternoon and becoming fast friends. how excited we were when we found out during that very first meeting that we'd be in the same sixth grade class. waiting at the bus stop with ross's older brother smoking, his cigarette the only glow in the early morning light, knowing that caitlin would be saving my seat. afternoon rides back settled next to her sharing the gossip and giggling at whatever jeff would say to us.
snuggled next to tessa under layers of warm blankets in the coldness of northern california summer nights. straining our eyes to search for shooting stars through the protection of our mosquito nets.
lovely afternoon bike ride with tessa to the park to go swinging. watching the little kids at the park with their parents. enjoying the summer's day as we explored park after park searching for the perfect trees to climb. stopping to buy ice cream cones on the way back home.
summer nights spent at the meadow in bosch, snuggled next to my favorites as we searched for shooting stars and sang prayers together.
bedside chats and prayers shared in those late moments of the night before we surrendered to sleep in our little cabin in the redwoods that we spent so little time in and yet treasured our time in so dearly. when dory would whisper the sweetest prayers in french.
the breaks i would spend in the lodge or frolicking through the woods with dory by my side.
bosch nights spent on the swings soaring up towards the stars above us. the quiet of the forest sheltering us.
my farewell bonfire when emily sang her song for me. the tears that leaped to our eyes at the thought of parting.
afternoons with jonah as we worked on landscaping projects around bosch, being alternately amazed by the incredible stories he shared and struggling to catch my breath from so much laughter.
the night we decided to go swimming only to have another southern summer thunderstorm. sitting under the protection of the clubhouse deck while armin and danesh swam in the pouring rain as we saw flashes of lightening light up in the distance. donia and i walking back with our towels over our heads even though we were already drenched, laughing the entire way.
the night sallie and i stayed up until four in the morning in her top bunk as we talked about past loves and dreamt of the future.
mary beth and i lying in our bunk beds in the dark dying of laughter for hours at our own ridiculousness. every. single. night.
counselor devotions at bosch. and our consultations. our hearts so full of emotion and happiness and healing. everything falling so beautifully into place every night thanks to prayers and our absolute and complete love for each other.
taking ice cream down to the ruins, hiking the narrow trail through the woods by the light of our cell phones, talking in hushed tones. sitting in the dark on the train tracks over the bridge, our ears straining to hear distant whistles and running at full speed to avoid near death.
when the weather would finally warm up, spring afternoons spent lying on blankets at tech tower lawn attempting to study for finals. the afternoon anne and i spent lounging on the lawn, before retreating to the air conditioning of brittain. sitting at the high tables by the window eating ice cream cones and dreaming up plans for the summer.
summers spent working at tech wreck camp. swim time madness. when derek and i got ring worm from the kids. parading through the rec center with dru, the kids all singing our original birthday composition for him at the top of their lungs. inappropriate walkie talkie conversations that had us convulsing with laughter. prepping for the water balloon fight, our legs getting drenched from the hose and balloons that kept bursting, our stomachs aching from laughing too hard. floating down the river in helen next to two of my favorite kids. never tiring of our staple field trip lunch of sandwiches, chips and juice boxes. the surprise going-away party the kids threw for me at the end of the second summer, my heart aching at how much i was going to miss my time with them.
the winter evening, diane, elyse and i spent lying under the glowing christmas tree, our stomachs full of dinner, warm cookies from the oven and laughter.
that month of every summer when layla would come for a visit. how we would spend the night in the guest room, staying up late as we whispered to each other. our days spent reading book after book. afternoons spent at the pool, layla teaching me how to do a flip into the pool. perfecting our dives from the low diving board and jumping with glee from the high dive.
the midnight hike the the clearing at bosch. twenty of us holding hands as we walked carefully through the forest in complete darkness after fritz lost all of our flashlights. laughing as we all tripped over tree roots and talked in hushed voices. when we reached the clearing, lying on our backs staring at the night sky and reveling in the beauty of that moment and the entire summer.
