beautiful summer

I have a picture hanging in my apartment of me and two close friends from Reno. The picture was taken during the summer of 2004 at my going away party a few weeks before I moved to Indiana. I love that picture. We're all full of smiles as the wind whips our hair around. I'm wearing a green tube top and have an array of tan lines from bikini tops and various tank tops.

The tan lines have always bothered me. I guess I always felt the picture would look better without them (yes, I know that's really silly). Last week I was looking at the picture and decided that the tan lines weren't so bad after all.

They weren't so bad because of wonderful memories they represented. Trips up to Lake Tahoe and Donner Lake. Sunday afternoons spent at softball games. Walks along the Truckee River. Various attempts to play tennis. Drives around Reno in Stacey's convertible. Those are all memories I wouldn't trade for anything.

It was a beautiful summer even though I knew that it was the prelude to a difficult move. I consciously made a decision at the beginning of that summer to enjoy every second of it rather than withdraw in preparation for the move. As difficult as it was to leave, I was so grateful for every second I had while I was still there.

I know that summer is still a few months off, but I wish each of you a beautiful summer filled with the best of memories to take with you when you go.