i sat in a metal chair not paying much attention to the teaching on passion. i’ve heard it before, i’ll hear it again. but suddenly i couldn’t sit there unaware of what was really being said. what had come out of his mouth challenged the way i live my life. and i didn’t really like that.

but really, i did. it’s good to be challenged, right?

i sat in the drivers seat of my parents minivan talking to a sister on my cell phone about food plans for a Mumsie’s birthday dinner. i passed the cop and felt my mouth go dry, my hands start to sweat, and my heart start to beat a bit faster. there’s nothing like the feeling when you think you’re going to get caught for something you’re not supposed to do.

i didn’t though. i’m lucky like that. and i like it like that.

we stood in our new sitting room — all twenty-four of us or however many there were — and told our Mumsie why we like her so much.

i like that time. i like that we do that. and i like that when i go elsewhere i’m finding that others have picked up on it.

i ate chicken and salad and salt potatoes and bread. and then i ate cake with strawberries and blueberries and whip cream. then a few hours later i drove down to the newest establishment in town and ate poutine and apple crisp. and i felt very full.

i didn’t really like that.

i sat in a blue poncho on the front porch of my white house with a red roof. my feet that weren’t under the cover of the red roof were wet with raindrops and grimy from the dirt, small stones, and mulch they had picked up on my rainy walk. there was conversation, but not always. and that was okay.

i like that.

i swept the porch floor at the end of a busy day. a sister and an “add-on”, as we’ve dubbed the many people who spend a large amount of time in this house, played on the piano and sang and experimented and created and i listened along.

i like that there’s always music.

i’m in bed. with a sister next to me watching a family favorite, Law & Order, and i think of my day and how good it’s been.

and i like that.