lately

storytelling.

some leftovers from earlier this year.

people will forever be the subjects i love most to photograph, paint, or just stare at.

it's overwhelming knowing that the untold emotions contained within me, as a single person, are shared with billions of other people living all around me.sometimes it's easy to feel alone in my thoughts & become entirely consumed by my personal narrative. especially when experiencing grief or heartache or disappointment or regret.

but it's comforting to remember i live in a world of billions

& although all of our experiences vary

the human condition applies to all of us.

i love the words of plato:

be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

and i guess that's why i love photos & paintings & people watching;

because a story is contained in every picture.

it might be less fulfilling than reality television, where no gruesome detail is spared,

but for the few minutes i look back at the person captured in front of the camera, i leave myself & imagine the battle at hand--

of existing & being such a small part of this big big world,

& trying to find our proper places.

we are tall weeds.

dirt

under my fingernails

encrusted into my knee caps

& smudged across my temples:

gardening in the morning makes me feel like a child in the best way.

sunday bike ride.

i'm gonna write a letter to my true love.

i've never felt so whole.

i wake up each morning teeming full

& i don't want anything

except time

&time

&time

with my true love.

birth days are the best days.

my sister carrie's birthday was this week. we celebrated early with bowling & fish & chips at jcw's.

(plus ice cream. wouldn't be a celebration without it.)

i love my fam bam. the more i grow up, the more grateful i am for them.

and the more i grow up, the bigger the fam gets. carrie's kids are the sweetest, smartest, most rule-abiding little kids. ike, who's five, totally has my back. when we go on bike rides, he makes sure i stay within two inches of the sidewalk so i don't get hit. or else he panics. he also chastises me for licking the spatula after mixing cake batter -- no aunt amy! it's NOT okay! you'll get sick from raw eggs!

(duh, his mother was a public health major.)

jonah is a little more crazy than his older brother. chase & i are convinced that while ike has reading time, jonah receives top-secret ninja training. you should have seen chase & jones sword fighting. at one point, chase was on the ground, jonah had claimed both swords, and was stepping on chase's arm while scissoring his neck.

they both love to wake me up by jumping on me, smothering my face in dirty socks, and insisting that i "EAT TRASH!!" as they pry my jaw open & force the contents of the garbage can inside my mouth. oh and there's always nerf guns involved. but ethan & noah got me primed for that.

gabe is less than year old, & he is pure sweetness. he has chubba cheeks & is sooo smiley. carrie taught me to get him to eat by waving m&ms in front of his face and spooning in the baby food while he salivates over chocolate. it's kind of a sad trick, but it works every time.

hanging out with them this summer has been such a riot. i'm gonna miss 'em.