Looking for Magic Quarter

Ever the modern fairy tale, my mornings usually begin the same way. Delicious coffee, a sweet smile from a beautiful roommate (sometimes she even brings me the coffee before I'm out of bed!), birds singing somewhere, sun shining, and even the distant sound of the freeway is more like a water feature at a classy restaurant. Magic Quarter morning was special, though. I had my morning planned to high efficiency and productivity. After I said goodbye to the roomie, I did a clean sweep of the apartment, giving unlocated things homes, vacuuming and creating a general atmosphere of sparkle. Next stage of the plan: putting a load of laundry into the machine, running while it was washing, and then swing back through the laundry room to pop it into the dryer while I went upstairs to stretch and shower. BRILLIANT. One problem though.

Washing costs 5 quarters and drying was not the 3 that I had thought, but 4. I was already well into the execution stage of my plan, and decided that while running, I would look for Magic Quarter. My eyes barely left the sidewalks as I ran my fastest ever five miles searching for Magic Quarter, willing it to present itself in that gutter or that crack in the curb. I caught myself thinking, "I have faith that I will find Magic Quarter," which then led to an internal discussion about the difference between faith and hope.

It seems to me that faith is an internal assurance of the truth, that things will be ok. My ability to say, "I can handle this," has been challenged recently (an entirely different blog in itself), but I always know that something will work out, even if it's not how I wanted it to go. Hope is just that; the things I want to work out in the way I want them to work, the icing on the cake of faith. I didn't have faith that I'd find Magic Quarter, I had hope.

It's good to know that all times of struggle or difficulty will work out. It's also nice to plan for what I want "working out" to look like, and to see what it ends up being. It keeps each day an adventure, keeps us moving forward and makes for interesting stories.

Here's how it ended with Magic Quarter. I never found it on the street. I asked for it from a neighbor, who gladly gave it.

Blessings to you as you handle the curveballs of hope in the unmoving faith that it will be ok.

Makin the rounds.

Being back from my stint abroad has come with its set of readjustments. There are the larger aisles in the supermarkets, the ease of communication with, well, anyone, and the uniformity of street levels to re-acclimate to. There has also been catching up with friends from time ago, and in a way, getting a new start. I feel wonderfully blessed to meet up with people I was only acquaintances with in college, as well as those treasured heart friends. Though a lot has happened in all our lives, it is great meeting them and seeing where they are, who they are, and fitting back in with them in a different way, since we're different people from then ago. So to you, Michelle, Tim B, Fred, Laura M, my LB and Orange families, my Breakfast Anarchists, Sarah and Pat W, Jimmy Jim Jim, Codie, Joe, Bell (via the phone!) and the Rossows, thank you for blessing me with your time, a shared beverage (or two!) and most importantly, YOU. Let's meet up again soon. :)