i’m sitting here at the end of this long day, at the almost-end of a long week, and as tired as i am, all i want to do is write. it’s all i’ve wanted to do for the past six days, and it’s not because i have something brilliant to say or anyone to really even say it to. i just don’t want to look back fifty years from now and not remember where i was at 27. where i was on this day, in this week, in this month, of this year. so here i am. and these are the things i keep wanting to remember and hoping i won’t forget before it’s too late and i haven’t written them down.

1. our six month old lab puppy, full of energy at 11:30pm, just ran into the office to get his favorite, red squeaky toy. it’s called a “wubba.” don’t know why i think that’s so funny, but i do. “wubba.” you can’t help but smile to yourself as you say it. at any rate, he ran to get this toy, but that’s not what got my attention. before he ran to get his wubba, he was playing with a little green plastic fish with gigantic red, kissy-faced lips. i bought it in the 1 spot at target a few months ago. it used to squeak, and it used to be kruger’s favorite toy. now, he gets tired of it and ususally leaves it laying around the house somewhere in favor of the still obnoxiously squeaky wubba. tonight though, instead of leaving the fish for dead and finding another playmate, kruger took the fish with him into the office and PUT IT BACK where his toys go before picking up a new one.

seriously.

my dog just put his toy away. either he’s picked up on my neurotic behavior and adopted it as his own, or he figured out that if he puts his things back in the same place, he’ll actually be able to find them again. it occurs to me that neither of the above options might be the real reason the fish ended up back in the toy stash, but really. does anyone else think that’s just kind of..at least a little…AMAZING? i can’t help it. i’m smitten with him. at least for the next ten minutes or until he eats another sock, or tries to escape me when i attempt to put him in his crate for the night. if nothing else, i have written proof that for a brief moment tonight, i thought that kruger was just about the best darn little pup in the world.

2. i was reminded again tonight that there’s really nothing better than spending an evening with your best girlfriends, chatting about life and taking yourself a little less seriously–if only for a moment. there’s no replacing your best friends. there’s just not. who else will help you polish off an embarrassing quantity of tortilla chips and salsa at dinner, split dessert with you over coffee, then shop with you for girly unmentionables and understand that the little pink bags you’re taking home will make you feel beautiful and enticing and new all at once? who else will listen as you ramble on about life on the way home, as you laugh so hard it might hurt? who else is so accustomed to you–and you to them, that ups and downs and stories and tears and anguish and joy and fear and prayers all flow in and out of one another without reservation, hesitation, or regret? i’m so grateful for deep, unconditional friendship. so, so grateful for an evening with two of the most glorious, life-giving women i know.

3. today is august 13th. well, 14th really, by now. i ran my first half marathon twelve days ago. twelve. i haven’t written about it yet. i keep wanting to, while it’s all still fresh in my memory. but i feel like it deserves a post of its own. a tipping of my proverbial hat. an acknowledgement somehow bigger than a mention in my just barely stirring blog. i. ran. my. first. half. marathon. twelve. days. ago. i did it. I DID IT!!!! and honestly, the whole experience has changed my life. i never want to forget that. i’d better get writing. there’s so much of a story to tell. and that’s because it’s not just about 13.1 miles on a summery sunday morning in chicago. as i’ve discovered in recent days, it never really was.

4. this is the end of the road for this post. i know. i was serious about the whole, “post of it’s own” bit. stay tuned if you’re out there, and if you’re not–well, let’s be honest. this blog entry was more for my soul than anything else. but if it touches yours in some way, that’s just the most delightful icing on a most delightful cake! i’ll be here. right back here. and soon.  m