That quote is one of my favorites from one of my favorite books, primarily because it rings true with me. I'm not a very good liar, and it may be because I have taken to writing my entire life so I am used to thinking things through to the point where lying is next to impossible.
It is officially summer. I'm working big-girl hours so it isn't summer in the way it was as a student, but it is summer in the sense that I spend my days grilling out, riding my bike, sitting on patios, and listening to live music outdoors... sometimes simultaneously. I moved out of my parents' house about a month ago (check that one off my summer to-do list!) into an apartment down in Sherman Hill. Yes, I live in a hippie-filled, gentrified neighborhood chalk full of historical old buildings and an organic grocery store on the corner. You know I love living my cliche. You also know I love living thisclose to downtown. Since moving here, the only places I drive my car is to work, my parents' house in Urbandale, or Chris' house on the far northside. Otherwise, I whiz about town on my hybrid white Bianchi bike. Come fall, I also plan on biking to Drake's campus, especially because there is a designated bike lane along Cottage Grove Ave. just calling my name!
Other highlights of my summer thus far have been live music events at Simon Estes, el Bait Shop, and the Mews. I'm seeing Mumford and Sons in Omaha in TWO days with Kate, 80/35 is coming up in a few weeks, and my first music festival another few after that (another off my summer checklist!). Today was the Capitol City Pride fest in the East Village. I went with Anna and couldn't take any pictures because my camera's battery died, so use your imagination to picture this: a rainbow exploded along Grand Avenue and left everybody smiling and dancing around, even the cardboard cut-out of Obama that was making the rounds.
Another thing I can check off my list this summer is adoping a kitty from the ARL. Ladies and gentlemen, and random readers of the internet, let me introduce you to Gatsby:
Tell me you could have looked at that nose at the ARL and not adopted her yourself. Exactly!
I wish I could leave this blogpost off with an enthusiastic explanation about how the rest of my summer so far has consisted solely of me reading and cooking, but that would be lying. Unfortunately life isn't always a perfect blogpost, so in the spirit of being truthful I'm going to talk about the not-so-happy.
Let me start off by saying that my dad is a pretty legit guy. He is a self-made success story: he worked his way through college, started a business, has been in a faithful marriage for 37 years, is a well-known and well-liked guy around town, and has one of the most amazing daughters possible (kidding). He is also a cancer survivor. When I was in 6th grade, my dad faught and beat colon cancer. That time period is a collection of hazy memories, partly because I was so young but also because I think our brain has a way of blurring things that we can't quite comprehend otherwise. I don't like remembering my dad when he was going through chemo, so as a result I don't really remember it.
A few weeks ago, my dad went to the doctor for what he thought was kidney stones, and came home with the knowledge that there were masses present and the doctors believed them to be cancerous. A biopsy showed they were, and surgery was scheduled to remove them. Further lab reports showed that the masses were the same cancer from before; it had been dormant and randomly manifested itself 12 years later. Cancer does that. Because cancer sucks. Physically speaking, the good news is that it was caught early once again. The surgery went well and doctors are hoping chemo won't be necessary. Psychologically speaking, this is the worst thing that can happen. Any cancer survivor will tell you that getting cancer again is probably one of their worst fears. So not only getting cancer again, but getting the same cancer again is damaging to mind and soul. But like I said earlier, my dad is legit. He is fighting this like it's terrorism. As in, he's doing everything like normal and fighting through the exhaustion and pain. I help my mom by chastising him and forcing him to sit down, but in my heart all I can do is look on in awe. He's been a fighter his whole life, and this is only another round.
Despite that, I cannot recall a time in my life when I've been as happy as I am right now. I am surrounded by amazing people and my life is full of amazing blessings. For the time being, I'm ok with basking in that happiness. In the long term, I need to find my camera charger so I can start documenting what is already becoming a simply superb summer.
