I had lunch outside today with an old friend who has grown and slid into someone I'm unfamiliar with.  But there are parts of her, traces here and there that I know deeply.  And for that we are both grateful.

We ate at our old spot, but in a new location.  And we shared news.  Then she got a look on her face and I was sad before she even told me.

Tasha did you hear?  Our old friends.  The ones we thought would never fall out of love, the ones who made us sick they were so in love.  They're all calling it quits.  All of them.  There's no one left.  I am not sure what the point of marriage, what the meaning of it is any more.  It doesn't seem to mean much.

Yeah.  I heard.

I went home and read a book that got deep inside of me.  I opened the window and laid in my bed for a while, just looking and thinking and mourning.

Roxy gets worried when people are too quiet.  Sometimes the act of comforting someone else is enough to make you feel alright on the inside.  It's as if your words Everything's ok, shhh.  It's ok.  As if they're true for you too.  For that storm that is inside of you, for the tightness around your chest.

And it's good to look out the window too.  To see the tall trees reaching towards you and the tire swing that you grew up on.  It's good to see that the world is still beautiful.

I read To Kill a Mockingbird and now I desperately want to name a dog Atticus.
What a name.
What a man.