Writing in Pencil: Dismantle.Repair

I had big plans for this past weekend all of which fell through.....well, except for my plan to finish Call the Midwife on Netflix. We can cross that one off the to-do list. Instead of all of MY plans for being super productive, I got exactly what I NEEDED after a week in which I felt extremely out of sorts.

Also: the title of the post is title of a song by Anberlin that I thought of when writing this post.....I think mostly because I couldn't think of better words other than 'healing' 'restore' 'repair' 'cure' to describe the weekend. And going forward, I'll work to remember that sometime what we need to move ourselves on from disappointment is not 'trying harder', being more productive, or getting back on a pedestal of perfection. Sometimes all we need is to be still and let ourselves be comforted.

What I Needed:

Sometimes you need to follow some of your friends to a party full of 1Ls so that....

you can remember exactly why you are glad that your undergraduate years are behind you
you can realize how amazingly lucky you are to have friends who also feel no less than 50 years of age at such events and would just rather leave and play board games all night
you can help chaperone

Sometimes you need to watch dualing guitar battles for 30 min at the H street festival and sign up for the rock opera listserv....

because it's so inspiring and hilarious to see people just doing something simply for the fact that they love it
(because you also you were probably hyped up on the free red bull)

The rock opera group at H street festival

Sometimes you need to walk from Dupont Circle to Adams Morgan in the pouring rain for a shopping date with a new friend....

because nothing bonds people together like fording rivers under one umbrella
because waiting for weekend metro trains means tons of time to get every thought you've ever had out in the open and things are always better out in the open
because being in NW means passing a starbucks every other block and it's about time you bought a pumpkin spice latte
because being in a fancy urban designer store reminds you that you know nothing about men's clothing

Michael and a hat he almost bought

Sometimes you need to eat a homecooked meal, then play cards against humanity, then have your second ice cream of the day...

because some days are a "two ice creams" kind of days (or 3 or 4....)
because "oh hey" everyone deserves to win CaH once in their life or at least beat imaginary player Obama at the game
because going to the grocery store with the boys is the most amusing thing EVER
because there is something about the combination of comfort food, friends, improv piano, and neverending laughter that heals the worst of tummy aches

Sometimes you wake up and end up going on Home Depot/Safeway shopping adventures with the exact same people....

because, when frienship comes this effortlessly and although I prefer Lowes, I'm not going to let you go to Home Depot without me
because otherwise Mike would have no one to support his decision to buy an entire pork loin...

Sometimes at the end of a weekend, you find yourself so overwhelmed with love that you feel an intense need to invite new friends over so that you can cook for them....

and, because you couldn't just make a lasagna, it has to have garlic bread, salad, and red velvet cake as well
because now you idolize anyone who can cook more than one course at once and have everything magically ready at the same time
because you are so wrapped up in reminiscing and laughing you momentarily forget about the Redskins' loss and the fact that tomorrow is Monday