Friday, I'm in love

At the moment, I'm sitting in our kitchen, eating my very own bag of kettle corn. Granted, this makes typing more difficult but it is so worth it! I've pulled up the blinds and opened the window,determined to get as much of the beautiful weather into our apartment as possible. The past few days have been positively heavenly. For those who know how easily I get cold it's easiest to describe the weather in terms of the number of layers I've needed to wear. Well, on Wednesday I traded my pea-coat and sneakers in for a sweater and flip-flops. Yesterday I ditched even the sweatshirt and today is more of the same! It's so beautiful and one of the most tempting things to resist ditching school to go up into the mountains.

I look forward to Friday's every week as my sleep-in days and this morning was especially satisfying. Aside from a spectacular breakfast of 3 fried eggs and 2 pieces of slightly burned toast, there's just something about waking up when your body wants to, not your alarm. And waking up to a sunny day where you aren't wondering if you'll need a scarf or not is amazing. It's easy to see in the eyes and smiles of everyone on campus that an upturn in weather is just what everyone needed to provide an upturn in mood. Winter seems to drag on here like no other place, keeping its claws latched tightly to your windows and clinging to your skin. With the warmer temperatures it almost seems like we've been blind for the last several months and the sun has just begun to shine again, blinding us but making us incredibly happy at the same time.

People who have been stuck indoors for ever so long are out and about, lounging on grassy patches [because that's the only kind of grass they have here, patches], studying and even napping. On my way home after sociology today I saw some guy from my apartment complex making some salutations to the sun in the courtyard area. I found this amusing.

When you find a moment where the air is completely still you can smell summer in the sunshine that's soaking into everything like melted butter. Utah doesn't really have the seasons of spring and fall so I'm not at all surprised by the mental images of hot, sweaty days this produces. I am glad that I won't be lugging a backpack around with me this summer when I'm out and about but I can't wait to have midnight romps through streets still heated to 85 degrees. I'm an evening person at heart and during the colder months that means a lot of movies and silly game nights which are awesome but late-night walks and being able to find a dark spot to see the stars without bundling up is something else. I'm excited to be able to drive around with Tim and not be cold for once, just living in the beat of the music from the stereo and the hot breath of nature streaming into the car and running its fingers through my hair.

I want to not mind if my neighbors have a dance party till 2am because I don't have classes the next morning. I want to get a bike and pal around the city. I want to go on road trips until I'm so sore I can't sit down anymore. I want to read books until my eyes burn out. I want to sit outside until I burn and then watch the burn fade, not to a tan, but back to the sickly pale that is my natural skin tone. I want to miss the ocean. I want to have freshly made burgers from the grill. I want to swing like crazy on a swing set to make my own breezes when the wind dies. I want to remember ever second of every day that all of this is a gift. God's best birthday present ever.

I've never read the Screwtape letters [it's on our summer reading list] but I read an excerpt once that says that all pleasure comes from God, it cannot be created by any but him. So the next time you have an amazingly incredible day for no reason whatsoever, be grateful that He cares about you and wants you to have that happiness, even a greater one, forever. I know I am.

This song holds a very special place in my heart for a very special person but it applies to so much more than just that: