How are interest rates looking?
On Wednesday, I got home in the middle of the day, parked in my garage, went to open the door to the basement, and thought, “huh, there’s like a camping rope sticking out of the door jamb…” come to find out the rope was in fact a snake. There is something just so truly unsettling about seeing a ground-thing about eye level. And the little snake on Wednesday turned into seeing two bigger snakes in the garage on Saturday, also above eye level. One is dead, another still on the loose. And it really might come down to putting the house on the market. You can tell me backwards and forwards that snakes are harmless, but are you haunted by the memory of a snake slithering into the insulation under your bedroom floor every time you close your eyes?
Number One: Volunteering at an event
Ever since I moved to Mission, I’ve been on this email list where when random volunteer opportunities pop up, I get an email. And I have let every single one of those opportunities pass me by. But about a month ago, something came over me and I replied, “sure I can volunteer at the sustainability fair, I’d like the early shift.”
Waking up to volunteer at the sustainability fair on a Saturday morning was a challenge, no lie. But I think in the thick of coaching Girls on the Run and managing an ton of ongoing volunteers at the church I forgot that giving my time to one off things kinda rules. I just rolled up, wearing green as instructed, helped a local vendor unload her native plants, learned a lot about planting native plants, almost spent $72 on native plants, thought planting native plants might just be another opportunity to encounter a snake, decided to remain focused on the financial goal of saving up for the honeymoon, but might buy native plants later.
It was easy and great and a good effort to meaningful ratio, and I would do it again.
Number Two: A cool story about a tribal language
I enjoyed this piece about an almost lost language in Indonesia. It’s sad to think about languages and cultures falling away to time.
Number Three: Tic Tacs
I don’t know if you’ve had a Tic Tac recently, but I have, and I thought it was delightful. Tic Tacs were a thing in middle school. The minty sweetness. Worth a revisit just for chuckles.
Number Four: Tony P in DC
Tony P popped up on my For You Page a while back and I thought he was so lolz. The outfits, the way he crossed his arms. Then I deleted TikTok, and he started showing up in my Reels, so I sent them to my friend Emily. Now I love Tony P with my whole heart. He’s just a 25 year old bachelor living in DC trying to keep his apartment clean, cooking a variety of meats, and being a positive presence on the internet.
This profile of him was so endearing. Please never get cancelled, Tony P.
Number Five: Learn someone’s name this week
I got to help serve communion this morning which is a thing I love to do, but I also get very flustered doing. I think I get flustered because it’s sacred and important, and I want to treat the sacrament of it all with reverence, but I am also always operating on a different level on Sunday mornings, and you gotta keep the line moving. I just trip over my words, especially when saying them over and over. So to slow myself down this morning I said, “Billy Bob, the body of Christ broken for you. Sally, the body of Christ broken for you.”
And I was reminded this morning how remembering someone’s name can be a really sweet and powerful thing. It’s really meaningful to look someone in the eyes and say their name. We’re all just walking around on this planet wanting desperately to be seen and known.