in a word: steph

it’s been brought to my attention that the majority of my love notes on this blog are directed at boys. to be fair, the majority of these boys are the ones from backstreet and a certain quarterback who plays at UH. nonetheless, it’s true, so to even the score a bit today I’m dedicating one to someone I have known for 20 years, went to school with for 6 and have lived within 5 miles of for the majority of my life, but will try to describe in one word.

God gave me two little brothers, so I’ve never had a sister. but I imagine having one is like having steph in my life – over the years we’ve shared secrets, hopes, fears, daydreams and (backstreet) boys. her parents have probably fed me enough meals to list me as a legal dependant. there has been so much mixing of clothes and books and CDs over the years that sometimes I don’t even know what originally belonged to her or me. steph has been such a constant part of my life that I really can’t imagine it without her.

there was once in my life, when we were away at different colleges and I overreacted to something you said, when I tried to convince myself that I didn’t need you. but truth is, steph, I do. there is no way on earth I would have made it through this year without you being there on gchat to walk me through mini-meltdowns and help me count down the days until our next adventure. there is something about a friend you’ve known since you were in elementary school, someone who’s gone through – and is still going through – countless phases with you (beanie babies, gel pens, Disney channel, the never-ending BSB one), someone who’s known me since before I even really figured out who I was, that is irreplaceable.

we’ve grown up together, you and I. we’ve laughed with and at each other, cried with each other, fought and made up like sisters do.  our relationship has changed and gotten older and more mature along with us, but in some ways it’s exactly the same as it was ten years ago, and that is a gift I treasure. I think God looks down and is proud of the ways we’ve both grown and developed. I love all the ways that we are the same (like our identical reactions to things) and I admire all the ways that we are different, the gifts you have that I clearly don’t -  like manipulating graphs, mountain climbing and adding. combined, I think you and I could take over the world, and I like to think we’re making the little bit of it that we share better.

it was true when I used to write it at the end of every ridiculously-folded note, it was true when I said it before I signed off AIM every night, and it’s  truer now, more than ten years later – love you like a sister, steph. maybe better known as…LYLAS!

in a word: miami

it’s the first day back after a long weekend, and let me tell ya…labor day tricked me into thinking it was summer again with its movie nights and football after church and the amazing feeling of having no pressure to do anything on sunday night. that carefree attitude brought me right back to the weekend I recently spent with rach and steph in MIAMI!we spent three days walking on beaches with the softest sand, clearest water and bluest skies.  if you asked me how my trip was, I probably told you something along the lines of  “it was like squeezing all of summer into three days.” and it’s not just the fact that it’s by a beach; the feel of the city epitomizes what the word ”summer” is to me.

• people: I guess since we spent most of our time in the tourist area of south beach, we probably just encountered everyone on vacation. but when we ventured outside a bit (we went windsurfing in coral gables and had some interesting public transportation adventures along the way – namely, missing the bus/train and having to wait around in random areas of Miami)  the people were just as laidback and informal.
• weather: it’s just as hot and humid as it is here. but for some reason, people don’t care and spend lots of time outside anyway, maybe because they’re constantly hopping in and out of the water. I have a definitive tanline from the weekend and I got way darker from those three days than I have from the rest of the summer.
• clothing: I’ve never been anywhere where beach-wear was also acceptable for anywhere else. people literally walked around in swimsuits and sat down in restaurants and went shopping in stores…I feel like you could not own a single pair of jeans in Miami and be perfectly fine.
• flavors: I definitely tasted the tropical influence in Miami. I felt surrounded by all the smells and scents I associate with summer. there was coconut (eww) and lime everywhere – I didn’t know so many things could be “coconut-crusted.” one restaurant put a lime in my iced tea instead of lemon for a small but surprisingly  delicious twist.
• time: time in miami seems to stretch out forever and yet pass so fast – just like summer vacation. you make all these plans for things you’re going to do with the seemingly countless days ahead of you. and yet, come august, you find yourself wondering where all the time went.

we did a lot of “beach” things – ate lots of seafood, walked around in dresses and flip-flops all weekend, and went windsurfing! while steph and rach were absolute pros, I fell on my face (or more accurately, my behind) the first two times I got on the board and got off to such a slow start that the instructor gave me the shortest sail because it’s supposed to be easier and tried to make me feel better by telling me that he’d seen worse: “I had an 80-year-old student once…”  nevertheless, by the end of the lesson I was maneuvering my way around pretty steadily and it’s a really cool feeling to sail over the water like that.

I’ve visited cities before where I found myself thinking “it’d be kinda fun to live here,” but it didn’t cross my mind in Miami, because it reminds me too much of summer and vacation to feel permanent. I think that’s part of what makes it so fun – it’s fleeting, not something that lasts forever. I already miss staying up late watching movies, sharing one bed with three girls and ending every night with a milkshake from shake shack (delicious)! but that’s ok, because it is miraculously 65 degrees in Houston today, which means my favorite season of all is here. can you guess what it is?  it starts with “F-” and ends with “-all…”  it’s football season! now that’s somewhere I really wouldn’t mind living  forever.

all pictures, as usual, borrowed from adventures of ippy