You know that Friday night when you spend an hour and a half on your two weeks' worth of recaps and then Firefox crashes and you forgot to press Save and suddenly it's alllllll gone...?

Yeah.

Let's see if I can sum it up.

We did a Habitat build day, painting, sweating, laughing, and getting to know some great folks.

I was inspired by my coworker Hannah to try bread-baking with this King Arthur Flour recipe, and it was a success! (a.k.a. it was fully cooked and edible and actually tasted like bread.) Especially delish with butter and Sean's favorite four fruits jam.

My writing group started back for the semester with familiar and new faces, and it always reminds me of the benefits of personal writing, and the gift it can be to share with a trusted group.

We celebrated Sean's birthday with both our families, good BBQ, and a delicious creamy cookies cake from Publix (Publix bakery never fails, our wedding cake included). I am so very thankful that we not only like our families, but that they enjoy each other, too.

I've been jogging more recently, though my latest jaunt ended with two scraped knees for the first time since I was, like, eight. And this week I've walked 10,000 steps every day this week, which is definitely a first in terms of regular work weeks. It's taken just a few tweaks to my usual habits, like walking up and down five flights of stairs when I don't need to, and taking regular walks around campus with a friend. It feels great to know this can be done, even with a primarily desk job.

My dad went up to Virginia to visit friends (and, you know, do a century bike ride, no big deal) and ended up worshiping at the church in Richmond where I spent the summer before my senior year. Even though I couldn't be there, it was wonderful to know that he spent the morning with some of my favorite people who have had such an impact on my life.

It's been another difficult week for our country, especially in the Queen City of Charlotte that Sean and I love so much. During this time, I'm grateful for my college classmate Clint Smith and his first book of poetry, Counting Descent, and his important voice that I hope will continue to reach more and more people. I'm also thankful for friends and coworkers who I can talk with and listen to, and who help hold me accountable in continuing to learn how I can be an ally for for my black sisters and brothers, to learn how to use both words and silence to process and help create the changes that we so desperately need, to dismantle the systems of oppression and privilege that keep some from having all the freedoms that we are all promised.

How about you? What's keeping you going in the midst of this crazy world?