Love my life

Kathryn and I have recently moved into our own place in Jackson, MS. It's a nice little place in the Belhaven neighborhood which has a great aesthetic and and even better sense of community. We have really great friends that live across the street and we are centrally located to church, stores, and everything else a young couple would need.

The past four months we have lived an hour south of Jackson at my in-laws home in New Hebron. The previous year we shared a house in Edinburgh with our friends the McIntoshes. So to have our own place is a fresh feeling of both privacy and freedom. It is a healthy feeling for us to have this apartment. Kathryn really enjoys having her own kitchen space filled with her cutlery, appliances, and menu to prepare the food she likes. She made raspberry and blackberry wheat scones this morning which was a welcomed treat to me. in fact, i am eating one right now.

Kathryn is an amazing person with many gifts. She has an artistic eye and talent that continues to grow. Her art work has changed and evolved into something that I can see as a real part of who she is. It is bold, expressive, and textured. I can really see her beauty through it. I find myself looking at things and evaluating them as she does. I've learned a lot about art through her gifts. My music tastes have changed, my views on visual art, and even my opinions on architecture and general aesthetics.

I love kathryn for what she has taught me and more for what I have to learn.

I got friends (while I'm) in low places

Moving back to the USA was going to be a major adjustment after 2 years in Scotland. There was never any doubt about that. Initial challenges of culture shock, financial stability, and reconnecting with friends and family stared us in the face before we even left. Those were the tangible things that we could plan on from our first day on rich, Scottish soil because we were facing them on arrival as well as departure.

Due to pride I thought the easiest would be the latter. Connecting with people. Friends to come home to. Relationships.

Wrong

It was more difficult than I thought. There was a problem. ME

I was under a self assumption that i was good enough of a person that i could be absent from friendships and community and they would willingly wait on me without any upkeep. You can't TIVO your friends.

I have learned a lot by my time away.

1. Kathryn is my grounding wire. Without her i would bend and strain in the wind like a 50 ft pine tree. I would waiver with the slightest breeze and sway with it as it changed. I am tied to her now in more ways than I can or will describe.

2. Friendships are all different and some may have changed while I was away. I made the terrible accusation to a friend that they were being a bad friend because they didn't keep in touch with me as I thought they ought to. That was one of the most self centered things I have ever done. I regret it and I am sorry.

3. Family is a God created institution. My parents and in-laws have been instrumental since we came back. They have fed my marriage with shelter, food, wisdom, money, love, and the list goes on. I am indebted to them and grateful for the reflection of grace they are daily.

I am also grateful for the new friends I have made. Within 3 weeks of making new friends and reconnecting with old ones, I had 5 friends put their weekend on pause to drive 3 hours roundtrip to help me move. On a friday night. In the rain. At night.

I still have a lot to learn

Shiftin' Gears

Every day when I left work at RBS, i would tell my friend Gavin, "Look both ways". His typical response would be "Always lad, always". We joked about this end of day ritual from time to time. People even mocked us pursuing this exchange like a sports superstition. But one day I thought about it on the way home. Lookin' Both Ways is a good motto to live by.

Pretty often we get tunnel vision. Like Christiano Ronaldo trying to score a goal, or Miss. State shoot three pointers. This can be problematic. We need to look both ways to see what's coming. I wish I would have applied this personally when I got t-boned leaving church, in a 3 week old car. EEEEESSSSSHHHH.

It also applies to hearing both sides of the story. I try not to take sides on family opinions, disputes among friends (unless sports related), or the big picture issues that people sqwabble over daily... until I look at it from both ways.

Not every blog post will be deep and reflective. I just wanted to explain my title and give you somethin to chew on.

2 Or 3 Or More...

Tuesday night i attended one of the most moving events ever. Wedding? No. Funeral. No.

Art Sale

To set the stage, my good friend Libbie Thomas is the RUF intern at the University of Virginia. The position is challenging in many ways, one of which is raising your own funding. Imagine having to raise your own salary before you could start your job. Libbie is in her second semester in Charlottesville and she came up short on her funding. By $5000. Talking to her sister Kate about her options led to an idea. How about an art sale? Kate being an established artist, plugged into the MSU art community, and being an overall livewire decided to do it. Over 20 artists, a dozen volunteers, 500 donated pieces of art, and 5 musicians gave of their time and selves to make this happen. Only three weeks later the show was on.

The turnout was staggering. I arrived with Kathryn expecting 30 maybe 40 in attendance. Being the prompt man i am, we pulled up a fashionable 5 minutes late. It was packed. I had to stand in line to get in. But when i did, i was greeted with music, art, and a great sense of giving. everyone that came was there to buy. there were well over 125 people in attendance when it opened and the numbers held for hours. Paintings for $15 dollars! Screenprints for $20!! Best of all, a vinyl wallet made by my good friend will bryant!!!

Within two hours, the full $5000 was raised. By closing, $7573!!! All because a sister saw a need and asked friends to pitch in. Grace and Love spread like a wildfire. People never hesitated to give. College students, who very often have more time than money, saw that they could support Libbie and get quality art. they gave and gave and gave.

It was an amazing thing to partake in. Check out the online sale that starts next Tuesday at 2or3ormore.com