my dear friend emily is graduating and I took her senior photos.

Sometimes, I don't know where to start with a story. There's so much to say, that if I tried to write it all, I would end up with pages of it and it would still be unfinished.

This is Emily. She's going to Liberty College in the fall and I can't believe that she's going to be all the way in Virginia. I'm incredibly excited for her and proud of her, but know that I'll miss her very much. Distance is like holes in my favorite jeans for a girl who loves coffee dates and the long conversations that follow them. Keurig coffee over Skype isn't the same as several hours at Starbucks, with strands of conversations humming in the background, the smell of coffee thick in the air, and the wonderful beauty of talking face to face with a friend.

It's weird growing up. I've known Emily for four or five years, but like so many friendships, it feels as if it's been forever. I remember talking about finally being old enough to be in the teen youth group and how exciting that was...and now the end of high school is looming ahead in the distance. It's both exciting and somewhat melancholy. While one season of life is closing, another is opening. And there's beauty in that in the same way that there's beauty in the last few fall days before the first snow.

Emily is one of those people who is full of life. She is a joy to be around, she has a heart for the Lord and His people, and she is one of the most humble, sweet, fun, and genuine person I know. She's the sort of friend who will buy you a coffee and sit and listen to your heart, someone who you can be open and honest with, who will cry with you and pray for you. And she is funny, bold, and loves people and invests in them and their lives.

So, my dear sweet friend Emily, thank you for being you. Thank you for your joyful heart, your exuberance, your laughter. Thank you for your prayers, your strength, and your wisdom. Thank you for laughing with me, crying with me, and walking through life with me. You are a true friend and I am so blessed to have you. And I still laugh every time I think about ordering in Panera.

We caught the last fall day and took Emily's senior photos (the first part that is...second half coming in the spring) and it was wonderful. Happy weekend. :)

island girl, excerpt no. 2

nano was going great until I got totally swamped with school/work, and I haven't written in two weeks. considering there's a few hours left today, and I have 30,000 words to go...I will not be finishing. and that's okay. nanowrimo was a perfect way for me to venture back into the wild world of writing and I've decided to make my visit a stay, whether that means simply short stories or blogging or something more. I don't currently know, but I know that whatever happens, I will keep writing.

because, as all writers know, you can't just let go.
there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.
maya angelou said that and her words ring true like the first thaw in spring.

winter is ending.
words come and go.
stories stay and matter.

very small excerpt, but that's okay.
always appreciate your thoughts. :)

h

excerpt:

We’ll step forward a few years.

Laurel got her cinnamon rolls (and a harsh scolding) if that’s what you’re wondering though.

The year was nineteen forty two. Laurel was seventeen. James was eighteen. There was a draft. Somehow the world was bleeding and no matter what people did, they couldn’t bandage it enough. A letter came in the mail, a call to action. It was an honor, Caty said. It was a shame, Annie said. But it wasn’t her son. No, not yet.

Goodbyes were heavy on Laurel’s lips, along with something else.

Yes, a kiss.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

the giving of thanks : a small story about our thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving day is a poem. The crust of the day still buttery rich and crumbly, much like the pie. Sweetness of cranberry and richness of turkey make up the first stanza; their lines surrounded by the expanse of the sky wide in the world and the bareness of the earth, stretching for miles the land's bare bones. The day itself was an onomatopoeia -- twenty four hours to give thanks, a villanelle. Two tercets made up the morning, floury hands and the Thanksgiving day parade and the tumble of littles getting ready. The remaining three were made up of the drive to grandma's house, watching the world as it prepared for snow, the heartiness of Thanksgiving lunch, and the rest of the day, enveloped in grace. And much much pie.

Villanelles rely on repetitions, and the day was rich with them. Unexpected snow was the surprise, an additional phrase in the last quatrain, one last simile that stayed long after the metaphors had been relegated to memories. And we gathered in the kitchen, both sets of my grandparents, aunts, uncle, cousins, siblings, and watched the snow fall outside the window. You know when something really wonderful happens, and you cannot stop exclaiming? That's how it was. It felt, cliche and cheesy enough to say, like a little piece of Christmas magic, and it truly was the most wonderful way to end Thanksgiving day. It was the icing on the cake, or more appropriately, the cool whip atop the pumpkin pie. There are some things I am picky about and one of them is the necessity of cool whip (yes, cool whip. my kinfolk heart protests but tradition is more important), as well as the canned cranberries.

I admit it, I am a sucker for the simple and a lover of traditions passed down year after year, much better than old sweaters. There's no holes in the sleeves or stains on the front and they smell like cloves and cinnamon, but like old sweaters, they fit just right. This is a very small story, a few phrases and photos, of our Thanksgiving. I had hopes to document the entire day but found myself putting down the camera to play games, to eat just one more slice of pie, to play piano and sing with my mom, to simply be present. And that is as it should be. Learning when to shoot and when to just be is important, and something I want to get better at.

Happy Wednesday, friends! And if you have a moment, I would love it if you'd stop by my website (www.imhannahnicole.com). I launched it yesterday and I'm so excited about it. I've been truly blessed and grateful for the outpouring of love and kindness I've received from it's birth, and I just want to say a hearty thanks to all of you. I'd have you all over for pie if I could, and would set the table with all of your favorites -- pumpkins, pecans, apples, berries, chocolates, meringues, cherries, all the best.

Much love, h.