Grace in Small Things, November 1, 2011
This church, Saints Peter and Paul in San Francisco, features prominently in what I was writing today. Isn't it beautiful?
1. Blew off work today (I've been working some on the weekends the past couple weeks, so I felt justified) and wrote essentially all day. Have a headache now, but it was so worth it. I'm writing a lot about San Francisco these days, and today I worked on a piece about the murder I witnessed while I was living there (awful), and the last guy I dated before I moved away (sweet). (The two are intertwined in a weird way.) All this stuff about San Francisco...these are things I've been trying to write for years...feels good to have parts of it at least finally coming together...
2. My mom came over and we went for a walk and had such a nice talk about things that really matter...
3. Texted back-and-forth with a dear friend of mine who didn't know about my blog until today. Hi Stacey! So happy you're my newest reader! :)
4. Windy this afternoon and the golden leaves are fluttering down outside my office window...almost like falling snow...lovely
5. Talked with my biggest client some more about maternity leave...we'd talked in broad strokes before about what I want (3 months off, then working part time, and no more crazy-long work weeks...I'm going to have to be more protective of my time), but today we got more into the nitty-gritty of how it's going to work. Everything is falling nicely into place
In fact, that's how I feel about life in general today...everything's falling into place. It's such a good feeling...
XOXO
Image Credit: The Dana Files.
The Annual Father/Daughter Trip: A History
Here's my dad and I on the top of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. A couple years ago we hiked from the South Rim to the canyon floor up the other side and then back. About 50 miles round trip. Absolutely incredible...this is something I'll definitely be doing again.So since 2001 my dad and I have done a trip together almost every year...just the two of us. It's always one of the highlights of my year.
Where we've been:
- 2001: Reno, NV
- 2003: Utah and Arizona and Las Vegas
- 2004: Jeeping in the Colorado mountains (this is the trip where I learned how to take my Wrangler off-road. We did some incredibly hard stuff, and my dad made me drive the whole way. Even though I was scared. Even though HE was scared (there was one portion of the trail with a huge drop-off on his side where he got out and walked)
- 2005: We were supposed to go to Seattle together, but my brother/his son had just died, and I couldn't fathom traveling
- 2006: North Carolina Outer Banks
- 2007: Washington's Olympic National Park, Victoria, BC, San Juan Islands
- 2008: Jackson Hole and Yosemite (it snowed like crazy this trip, even though it was early June)
- 2009: Backpacking in the Grand Canyon
- 2010: Memphis and Mississippi (I was initially sceptical of how much fun we could have there, but this ended up being one of my favorite trips)
And this year, it's four glorious days hiking in Utah, starting tomorrow. I've just had a couple brutal work weeks and I cannot tell you how excited I am to be getting out into the desert with no phone, no computer, no obligations...just a girl and her dad hanging out and having a good time.
Back Tuesday. Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! :)
XO