The Faces Of Summer

It’s pretty amazing when you take the lemons life throws at you and end up making the most delightful lemonade. Sometimes, you mix a bit too much sugar in and then realize the sweet isn’t balanced at all without the tart. Then you begin to understand that you truly can’t appreciate the sweet in life without the sour. You try and try, mixing this and that, looking to find the perfect recipe. Then suddenly, all the crappy batches of lemonade you’ve created pale in comparison to the one made when you abandon all the recipes and just go by taste.

This has been life for me this summer. What began as some of the hardest months of my life are slowly turning into a sweet new season. As I get older, I've come to see that you really can’t understand the power in growth out of pain until the clouds break and you start seeing the sun again. Unfortunately, you can’t predict the weather, right? So, you wait and you watch and you hope. You hope for brighter days soon and you hope that there’s a bigger meaning in all the gloom and rain. If you can just hold out long enough, the sunshine after said rain can be the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. I often think of flying in a storm and what that moment is like when you rise high enough above the clouds to encounter the sun. Sometimes, all the turbulence and fear becomes worth what you see outside of it. And it’s glorious.

Below is my own little tribute to the remarkable people who have been my strength when I’ve had none left this summer. These people are a giant part of the reason I’m stronger, happier and back to feeling hopeful again. Some have flown across the country for me while others have simply walked down the street. But, all of them have spent their time. On me. I am profoundly grateful for these people. Because of them, I'm finally seeing the clouds part and the sun peeking out. These are the sweet faces of my first Denver summer and the reasons I had to smile, even through the rain:

"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk before me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend." ~Albert Camus

Summer

Let's talk about happy things. Let's talk about summer and sunshine and friends. The sad things I've gone through lately are hereby considered past events and I no longer give them power. So, let's talk about being free and open and alive!

Can you believe it's almost the end of August? Nope, me either. Summer seriously brings me back to being a kid. The smell of burgers on a grill, sweet summer corn, late sunsets, super soft green grass on your bare feet...there's so much goodness in summer.

I've spent my first in Denver exploring as much as I can. There have been BBQ's, new friends, afternoons in the park with smoothies and a good book, rooftop bars, delicious new restaurants, awesome runs and CrossFit classes. There's been newness and fresh starts, laughter and wine, hikes and birthday parties. There's been whiskey tasting, pesto making and beer drinking. There's been park discovering while out on weekly walks, trivia night at the bar, Moscow Mule drinking and cheese tasting. There's been that 3am night (or two) out, weekend day trips, friends in town and church hopping to find that hopeful spot to call 'home'. There's been that one-extra-glass-of-wine-too-many, all because of an immeasurably beautiful evening on a patio discussing the beauty of this world with a trusted friend. There's been homemade tomato basil soup, strong Americanos early in the morning and the occasional pancake breakfast after a nice, long walk. Cigarettes have been smoked, sangria has been made and adventures have been had. Life has been lived.

Here's what some of that looks like:

Just a quick hello from up on the roof:

;)

Don't forget the cocktails. Ohhh, the cocktails...

Summer makes you feel good down to your bones. Warm sun, cool (thanks to being in Colorado!) breeze and refreshing rain showers that are followed by bright, beautiful rainbows. What a sign of promise a rainbow is. A promise of light after darkness, that life will shine beautifully even after the ugliest of storms:

Summer has been good for me. I'm shedding an old skin and finding my new self. I love just that, the whole finding myself thing. You shed some tears, you share some laughs and you dig into the soul of yourself which is a fascinating, complicated, intricate, awesome journey. I wouldn't trade what I've gone through because I'm presently here, discovering how to live in this very 'now'. Dang, it's good. So good. 

Truth.

Happy Summer, all. I hope yours has been full of all the sunshine you can handle and all the hugs you could hope for.

A Quick Hop Over To St. Louis

Every summer growing up, we went to St. Louis for a week to visit our cousins. Outside of Christmas, it was the event of the year. My cousins had a pool, a pinball machine, a pool table, endless bags of chips, a fridge stocked full of soda...it was paradise for a kid and I couldn't wait for it every year.

Almost ten years ago, one of my cousins married an amazing Spanish man and moved to Madrid. While they get back to the US fairly often, timing has never been in our favor to head back to St. Louis at the same time. Until now. Turns out my parents, Allison and I were all free the same weekend to head back to the good ol' midwest while Rachel, Gonzalo and their daughter, Renata, were visiting. It's been five years since we were all together. Even though I'm older now, the same excitement I had as a kid resurfaced and I could only think about the pool, sunshine and beers instead of sodas. See? There are some perks to getting older.

I'd gotten in late on Friday night but I sure was up early to get myself out to the pool:

 

Exactly the same as I remembered it. Out of all the kids, I was always the one in the pool from morning til night. You just couldn't get me out and the torch has definitely been passed on to both of my cousins' kids. I had so much fun watching them do cannonballs, back flips and, best of all, swimsuit model poses. 

There was the fashionista:

 

The bodybuilder:

 

The dancer:

There was even the pose of terror (meant to be VERY scary, people):

Models in the making, I tell you.

Sweet Gonzalo played with them all day in the pool:

Trust me when I tell you he's one of the greatest fathers I've ever seen.

The day was gorgeous. Perfect amount of coming and going clouds that made for ideal snoozing in the sun:

 

Some could attest to that more than others:

 

 

 

Don't be mad, Dad. Just capturing you in all your glory.

While I was thrilled to see everyone, I was especially excited for the time I got with sweet Renata:

She's absolutely precious. She even dealt patiently with me annoying her to speak in Spanish. That little voice! I love her.

One of my favorite traditions we carried out for years was smoking ribs. My uncle would slow smoke them all day and we'd have a feast after an afternoon full of diving board contests and going backwards down the slide. Obviously, our trip wouldn't be complete without the same tradition.

That's only the top layer of what totaled 12 racks of ribs in the smoker:      

Hot damn, that's what I call summer.

Once we all showered, it was definitely happy hour time. I can't tell you how awesome it was to catch up with Gonzalo:

Don't let so many years pass without seeing people you love. Really.

After some chatting and vino drinking, it was time for dinner:

This is some stuff I can get down with. It was a full night of conversation, (expensive!) wine drinking, good food, fun fireworks and all around important time with family. Lightning bugs were out, the lingering smell of smoke from the smoker was in the air and even a brief rain shower came along to cool things off. Really, these are things that make summer what it is for me.

Our last morning, Aunt Renata made delicious baked apple pancakes for breakfast:

I was surprisingly reserved in not asking for seconds. Pancakes and bikinis don't go well together.

Allison and I walked through Uncle Bruce's garden afterward and ate cherry tomatoes off the vine:

 

He's growing a lot of awesome stuff this year, even grapes. I swear, the only time I ever wish I had a house of my own is for a big, sprawling garden. He's got the most awesome irrigation system and it's so neat to see how it all works.  

The weekend was very short but sweet. I have a small family and the time together truly counts. I hope years don't pass before we all see one another again, that's for sure. I don't think I could go that long without those infamous ribs...

When I left and looked through my photos, I saw that the girls had gotten ahold of my phone and took some photos of themselves. I just want to squeeze sweet Alexandra here:

 

That was a happy surprise to find after the sadness of goodbyes.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful summer and cherishing the little things. That's what it's all about.