This Is The Best Part . . .

 Nobody told me that the Summer I cried myself to sleep more nights than I'd imagined possible could end at lunch. Over a plate of chicken salad several days before the Autumnal Equinox. Nobody tells you that because they don't know either. But I know. At least I do now. It would have also been entirely impossible to predict that I'd have the time of my life in a Cracker Barrel. But that's just a Sunday in this precious-PRECIOUS week full of delicious surprises!

MOOD: Come see me at Dynamite this week!

We arrived at Grant Park early for (my three year old best friend) Aesop's first soccer game. I can't really remember what happened before that. I ate, slept, and worked but the weekdays just melted into each other and I wondered what I'd have to write about. In fact, I was ready to start my existence as a shut-in. The world - the part with people in it - felt too vile and vulgar to "put shoes on." To make matters worse, somewhere in there I realized that this Summer had orphaned me - to some extent. I lost the one person that I felt like I could really confide in and expect measured, unbiased, caring advice. Even this morning, I woke up and felt like the only thing that could make life "right" again would be to find a way to BRING HER TF BACK. The one thing that none of us can ever do. But somewhere in the middle of that big, gaudy, cumbersome mishmash of weekdays, I had the presence of mind to reach out to someone I admire. And that made ALL the difference! But back to the FIRST best part.

We arrived at Grant Park early. And what followed was ALLLLLLL the reasons to slide your unpedicured feet into a pair of Birkenstocks! Every last one.

The little one got to come back to Athens with us! On the way home, we stopped in Monroe for a giant cookie and strolled down to the actual cutest bookstore I've ever had the experience of wondering (and I do mean WONDER!) around for the better part of an hour. The Story Shop sells books. But unbridled enthusiasm is what you leave with. Read a book in the tipi, hang in the Hobbit Hole, bid adieu to the Moon under a rocket ship... just open the doors and the literal feeling you get from realizing that you're in the middle of your new favorite book smacks you right across the face. I noticed myself begin to hum "this is the best part, this is the best part!" But it wasn't.

There were better parts that followed. Eating pancakes, watching Benji, seeing the Love of my Life walk through the door (in a Minion t-shirt) holding a Minion popsicle. Bath time, bedtime stories, Bishop Park with the Falkes. Hearing a little boy say I love you for the first time! An impromptu breakfast date. Remembering - all of a sudden - what it feels like when you can't stop laughing. Friends who allow you to imagine what it might have felt like if you'd been able to meet your big sister. A SECOND trip to The Story Shop with Mariah!!! And still, none of those was the very best part.

The Tot-chos & Biscuit Beignets at The Barrel were FI-YER!
Not even kind of being sarcastic. Pro tip: ask for Jade N.
I haven't been in the presence of a more lovely server - period.

Spoiler alert:

THIS is the best part: racing home to write because you just had lunch with someone who feels like an actual big sister!

I invited her to lunch. And it was my treat because I told her up front that I was wrestling with some challenging issues and, outside of therapy, I had realized that I didn't have a single person (for various reasons) in my life who could fill that role. The older/wiser + only interested in helping to untangle what's best for me role. And let me tell you... In a town filled to the brim with Big Sisters, within earshot of their big, beautiful houses... I absolutely NAILED it! And left with an actual dopamine buzz. Off chicken salad and the sound of this incredible woman's voice. And she didn't tell me a single thing to do. She talked to me. She told me her stories. And those stories became the mirror that showed me how exquisitely I already knew what to do. I hope that I can do that for someone one day!

So... This. Is. The. Best. Part. And there's more to come. Much more. But TA-TA! for now because I need to put my shoes on. I have a dinner date. And what better way to celebrate the very first day of the rest of my life than with a Pretty Boy?