Friday is where I’ve found redemption this week. I was deep in a funk for most of it – frustrated again with software problems and thwarted plans. Missing mom and her words of wisdom. Sweating the small stuff, the scary stuff, and the summer weather that has turned every blade of grass to tinder.

But today.

This morning.

I woke up to this sweet face and this pot of impatiens that, having survived the heat of this suffocating week, bloomed lovely in the early sun, and I was reminded – it is good to be alive.

Tell me, where did you find grace this week? 

Some encouraging links for you :

Great advice on the publishing rollercoaster and the 5 stages of dealing with rejection.

On purpose, His plan, and paychecks : When the Boss Doesn’t Know God’s Plan.

“Women find smart women intimidating,” “You shouldn’t say you have a PhD, because that implies ‘you’re better than everybody,’” or, in a nutshell, why Hila is my blog heroine!

Be excited by the mess.

“All is grace, even typeface.” Preston bravely talks singleness during wedding season.

[Photo.]

I’m spending my weekend with this fluffiest of furry faces, our puppy-in-law, Gabby. And she is (aside from my parents’ springer-lab, Ginger) the sweetest dog in the whole wide world. My heart swells whenever I see her bound across the yard, greeting me and my husband after we’ve been “too busy” to stop by for a couple weeks.

After losing dear old Duncan a year ago, Gabby’s presence in the Suckrow family has brought back a joy that was missing in our lives for awhile. She has this peculiar way of communicating with us that sort of astounds. I once caught her giving my father-in-law a legit hug, front paws around his neck, wet-nose against his cheek.

At any given moment, you will find her sitting nose-to-nose with one of us – my in-laws, my husband, or me – with a paw on our shoulder, arm, or chest, staring unblinking into our eyes, like she has something really important she’d like to say :

“Did you know that there is a rabbit in the back yard? Right at this very moment? I can smell him. He’s going to eat Mom’s potted lettuce, I just know it. Let’s. Go. Outside.” [Tail wag for dramatic emphasis.]

or,

“I know you’ve had a rough day. Did you know I really really love you? Rub my ears and we’ll both feel better.“ Funny thing is, it works.

[Photo.]

I’ve written a lot about my mom here on this blog, but today I’m sharing a story for Prodigal Mag about my dad. A little belated Father’s Day ode, or something like that.

I deeply love and respect my father now, but I wasn’t very close with him when I was a teenager. In fact, this story begins in a rather difficult place : the time I told him I hated him. I promise you, it gets better. This story of ours has been healed by Grace, but it took a long time to get there.

P.S. That super sweet photo above is of me and my daddy on my wedding day, and it was taken by this uber-talented guy.

Confession : I’ve never read On The Road by Jack Kerouac. After seeing the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation, I decided to snatch it up at the library last week so that I actually read the book before I see the movie.

As I get to know the characters, I find it really fascinating to know that many of them were based on real people, and that the plot is loosely based on Kerouac’s own life on the road. I’ve even found myself referencing a map as I read to see the route that Sal Paradise took on his journey.

Which is why I find it reassuring and fascinating that On the Road director Walter Salles made a documentary prior to the film, In Search of On The Road, in which he actually travels the Sal’s exact road trip, and speaks with Beat poets who knew Kerouac. I’m almost more interested in seeing Salles’ documentary than the film itself! It was screened at the 2010 San Francisco International Film Festival, but it doesn’t sound like Salles plans to release it for public viewing any time soon.

Have you ever read On the Road? Do you plan to see the film? 

[Photos : 1, 2, 3.]

~

book·ish/ˈbo͝okiSH/Adjective

1.  (of a person or way of life) Devoted to reading and studying rather than worldly interests.
2. (of language or writing) Literary in style or allusion.
3. (of art and all manner of lovely things) devoted to the written word as a form of art and as a way of seeing the world.
4. (of BethanySuckrow.com) anything of the aforementioned characteristics as they are found on the interwebs and reposted by Bethany, because bookish and writerly things always give reason for amusement.

Outside the birds chirp and the neighborhoods kids squeal and dive into the community pool. I eat fresh cherries from a bowl while I type, listening for the sounds of summer.

For every tart bite, I give thanks for one good thing that happened this week, and let go of one not-so-good thing.

I’m forgetting the ridiculous abundance of software problems at work and choosing to remember the sweet sound of my niece’s voice over the phone last night, “Love you, Auntie B.”

I’m trading the overwhelming exhaustion I felt Monday-Wednesday for the sweet relief of Friday and the luxury of having worked from home today.

I’m giving up my angst and anxiety over work and writing so that I can read Kerouac’s “On The Road” for inspiration.

What are you purging and gaining this Friday?

Enjoy these sweet morsels of internet goodness :

Sometimes the dream job is hard.

Don’t try.

7 Ways to Build Your Unplatform. (Number 4 is my favorite.)

Choose a life of harmony over balance.

Be idle and blessed.

[Photo.]