A few of my friends are a little frustrated that I don't use names on this website with any sort of regularity. You know, give props to whom accolades are due and stuff. Mostly it's because a weblog is like any short story, too many characters confuse the reader. It's not that I think that you're simple, it's that I am. But, in an effort to connect, for most of you readers who aren't living alongside me (and the readers who live next door and want to read a brief synopsis of who I think you are), I would like to introduce you to:
My roommates/neighbors current (for roommates past, see this) are as follows:
Beca: calms me. She says that I calm her, but we both know we calm one another. When two spirit which err on the quiet side coincide, there is a serenity, and with us two there is a serenity. She is beautiful, I think, and I tell her so often. We like the same colors and clothes and share things like food and thoughts every day. Beca is a servant, one who gives willingly and without concern for herself.
Rachel: is away in London at present. Rachel is extreme and because of that she can do anything she puts her mind to and do it well. She vacillates in her choice vocation, but I think very talented people are prone to that. There are so many things they could do well, the options are endless. I hope she chooses to do what she wants to do, instead of what everyone else wants for her.
Kelly: is also away at present, but most of you have already met or will shortly meet her. She is the tall, blond, beaut I still can't believe loves me. Kelly is sweet. I know that sounds trite, and maybe it is, maybe there's a better adjective; all I know, though, is that Kelly is the epitome of sweetness. Everyone just wants to be around her, she has that kind of light. Plus, she's J's girlfriend, so between the two of them, they're pretty popular.
Laura: is also away at present, in Virginia. Laura is, hmmmm, Laura is simplicity. Laura is uncomplicated and pure. No one has to play guessing games when it comes to Laura, she is what she seems to be and is never what she doesn't seem to be. She has beautiful long curly black hair, the kind of curls you want to stick your pinky finger through. She is Shelby's girlfriend.
Shelby: is not his name at all. His real name is Eric. But I am prone to forgetfulness of the most extreme kind and I somehow thought his name was Shelby when I first met him. Shelb lives next door and actually answers to Shelb, we're cool like that. He is a really great guy, the kind of guy that makes Laura look okay in all her purity because he's like that too. He takes good pictures and makes good music. And he's not a bad actor either.
Mike: is funny. He and J set one another up for all their funniness and it usually turns out to be quite hilarious, actually. Mike has a cool car and he buys food for everyone with semi-regularity. Mike is Rachel's cousin and they are funny together because sometimes I forget that they're related and can't believe they'd talk to one another like that. All of the Petrillo's are extreme in their own way.
J: Well, you all know J, so I won't say much except to say that when we headed down here people were all like "Oh, you just wait and see, you'll fall in love with one another. . . " I like to tell that story because people were wrong and I like it when some people are wrong. J is quite happy to be with Kelly and I am quite happy to have a brother I didn't quite expect to love so much. J keeps my head and reminds me to represent our home.
Now to other pieces of my family (This is the part where your name might not get mentioned, and it isn't because I don't love you, it's just that I probably haven't written about you on this weblog and this is easily remedied: we can have a thought-provoking conversation next time we see one another and I'll post about it.):
Brent: is my good buddy from North Carolina. Brent is all woodsmoke and North Face and big muscles and brains. He knows all kinds of stuff about science and he tells me all kinds of facts that I don't know and didn't know I had to know. Brent loves God and that's one of the reasons I love Brent. He has wrestled with God and seen His face; he's a good guy.
Jackie: is my newest friend, but everytime we talk I feel like she's my bosom friend. I told her brother that the other day and he laughed because I said bosom, but it's true. Just yesterday I discovered another thing we have in common, little dimples in our chins! Jackie is honesty, I think. I feel like when I'm talking with her that the difficult things of the world are not so difficult after all, we can talk about them and sort through them and see the light in the end.
Laura C: If I am pressed to say, I will say that it is Laura that I deem as my first real honest to goodness, give and take friend down here. Laura speaks life into my life and takes life from my life and always smiles and tells me how faithful the Lord is. Laura is beautiful. Laura is Wes's girlfriend. Wes doesn't get his own spot here because Wes is almost always gone to some other country or other state or some other part of the city being a missionary. Wes is still amazing, though. Mostly because he got Laura, but also because he is what I would imagine Jesus to be like if Jesus walked on earth.
The guys at 462:
Mike Baker (the newest addition): is humble. He's thoughtful and deep, but mostly he's just humble. He opens the car door for me and, sometimes, when he's sharing about something the Lord did in his life his eyes get watery at the edges. I'm not sure he's going to be very happy that I wrote that, but it's true and I'm trying to be truthful here. That's one of the things about Baker that I love. He's big and plays rugby and is all rough and tumble, but he knows how to be humble.
Nicholas: A few months ago I prayed for someone who knew stuff to be my friend. I wanted to have a friend who loved art and music and books and someone who, when we were having a conversation about something, knew the same quotes and authors and artists as me. I wanted a friend who would wrestle with the things of God with me and be honest. Nicholas is that friend. Nick is a graphic designer and illustrator, but I didn't totally believe him until last weekend when I saw the fruits of his labor. It turns out he was telling the truth.
Steve: is from Connecticut and, when we first met, he saw my license plate and we rejoiced in the find of another true Yankee. Steve is the epitome of friendliness. Steve is also the epitome of sap. He's honest about things that could be awkward, like a bunch of twenty-somethings sitting around a table on Mother's Day discussing favorite mom stories. Steve builds things and makes things. He's a good cook and he's the youngest of six. Steve is Sara's boyfriend. And Sara is the greatest.
Sara: doesn't belong in 462, but she's there often enough. Sara is tall and sometimes I wonder where she's been my whole life. Right now she's in Europe with her roommates and I'm insanely jealous. But she deserves to be there because she's goodness through and through. Sara rests her arm on my head sometimes and has a mean British Cockney accent. She makes me laugh.
Tony: does belong in the 462 and he is Nick and Jackie's brother. Tony just graduated last week with a degree in Bio-Chemistry. He is wicked smart, even though he doesn't think so, and he is also wicked funny, which he knows. One of the first conversations I had with Tony was about missions and the nations and I knew, I knew, that this would be a person I would like. A person I would want to be my friend. And I was right.
Amos: is just like Sean. Make Sean a little shorter, a little funnier, a lot better dancer, and you have Amos. Amos has eyes that smile a lot. Amos asks hard questions that don't necessarily have answers, the kind of questions you wish had answers, but don't. The kind of questions all of our kids will be asking in thirty years, still without answers.
______________________________________________________
There are more, or will be more, but this is it for now. These are the people I'm talking about when I say makeshift family. These are the people with whom I share my life and my house and my faith and my struggles. I love each of them a lot. I love each of them in ways I didn't expect to love them---and I am a better person because of them. And now you know a little about them too.
My roommates/neighbors current (for roommates past, see this) are as follows:
Beca: calms me. She says that I calm her, but we both know we calm one another. When two spirit which err on the quiet side coincide, there is a serenity, and with us two there is a serenity. She is beautiful, I think, and I tell her so often. We like the same colors and clothes and share things like food and thoughts every day. Beca is a servant, one who gives willingly and without concern for herself.
Rachel: is away in London at present. Rachel is extreme and because of that she can do anything she puts her mind to and do it well. She vacillates in her choice vocation, but I think very talented people are prone to that. There are so many things they could do well, the options are endless. I hope she chooses to do what she wants to do, instead of what everyone else wants for her.
Kelly: is also away at present, but most of you have already met or will shortly meet her. She is the tall, blond, beaut I still can't believe loves me. Kelly is sweet. I know that sounds trite, and maybe it is, maybe there's a better adjective; all I know, though, is that Kelly is the epitome of sweetness. Everyone just wants to be around her, she has that kind of light. Plus, she's J's girlfriend, so between the two of them, they're pretty popular.
Laura: is also away at present, in Virginia. Laura is, hmmmm, Laura is simplicity. Laura is uncomplicated and pure. No one has to play guessing games when it comes to Laura, she is what she seems to be and is never what she doesn't seem to be. She has beautiful long curly black hair, the kind of curls you want to stick your pinky finger through. She is Shelby's girlfriend.
Shelby: is not his name at all. His real name is Eric. But I am prone to forgetfulness of the most extreme kind and I somehow thought his name was Shelby when I first met him. Shelb lives next door and actually answers to Shelb, we're cool like that. He is a really great guy, the kind of guy that makes Laura look okay in all her purity because he's like that too. He takes good pictures and makes good music. And he's not a bad actor either.
Mike: is funny. He and J set one another up for all their funniness and it usually turns out to be quite hilarious, actually. Mike has a cool car and he buys food for everyone with semi-regularity. Mike is Rachel's cousin and they are funny together because sometimes I forget that they're related and can't believe they'd talk to one another like that. All of the Petrillo's are extreme in their own way.
J: Well, you all know J, so I won't say much except to say that when we headed down here people were all like "Oh, you just wait and see, you'll fall in love with one another. . . " I like to tell that story because people were wrong and I like it when some people are wrong. J is quite happy to be with Kelly and I am quite happy to have a brother I didn't quite expect to love so much. J keeps my head and reminds me to represent our home.
Now to other pieces of my family (This is the part where your name might not get mentioned, and it isn't because I don't love you, it's just that I probably haven't written about you on this weblog and this is easily remedied: we can have a thought-provoking conversation next time we see one another and I'll post about it.):
Brent: is my good buddy from North Carolina. Brent is all woodsmoke and North Face and big muscles and brains. He knows all kinds of stuff about science and he tells me all kinds of facts that I don't know and didn't know I had to know. Brent loves God and that's one of the reasons I love Brent. He has wrestled with God and seen His face; he's a good guy.
Jackie: is my newest friend, but everytime we talk I feel like she's my bosom friend. I told her brother that the other day and he laughed because I said bosom, but it's true. Just yesterday I discovered another thing we have in common, little dimples in our chins! Jackie is honesty, I think. I feel like when I'm talking with her that the difficult things of the world are not so difficult after all, we can talk about them and sort through them and see the light in the end.
Laura C: If I am pressed to say, I will say that it is Laura that I deem as my first real honest to goodness, give and take friend down here. Laura speaks life into my life and takes life from my life and always smiles and tells me how faithful the Lord is. Laura is beautiful. Laura is Wes's girlfriend. Wes doesn't get his own spot here because Wes is almost always gone to some other country or other state or some other part of the city being a missionary. Wes is still amazing, though. Mostly because he got Laura, but also because he is what I would imagine Jesus to be like if Jesus walked on earth.
The guys at 462:
Mike Baker (the newest addition): is humble. He's thoughtful and deep, but mostly he's just humble. He opens the car door for me and, sometimes, when he's sharing about something the Lord did in his life his eyes get watery at the edges. I'm not sure he's going to be very happy that I wrote that, but it's true and I'm trying to be truthful here. That's one of the things about Baker that I love. He's big and plays rugby and is all rough and tumble, but he knows how to be humble.
Nicholas: A few months ago I prayed for someone who knew stuff to be my friend. I wanted to have a friend who loved art and music and books and someone who, when we were having a conversation about something, knew the same quotes and authors and artists as me. I wanted a friend who would wrestle with the things of God with me and be honest. Nicholas is that friend. Nick is a graphic designer and illustrator, but I didn't totally believe him until last weekend when I saw the fruits of his labor. It turns out he was telling the truth.
Steve: is from Connecticut and, when we first met, he saw my license plate and we rejoiced in the find of another true Yankee. Steve is the epitome of friendliness. Steve is also the epitome of sap. He's honest about things that could be awkward, like a bunch of twenty-somethings sitting around a table on Mother's Day discussing favorite mom stories. Steve builds things and makes things. He's a good cook and he's the youngest of six. Steve is Sara's boyfriend. And Sara is the greatest.
Sara: doesn't belong in 462, but she's there often enough. Sara is tall and sometimes I wonder where she's been my whole life. Right now she's in Europe with her roommates and I'm insanely jealous. But she deserves to be there because she's goodness through and through. Sara rests her arm on my head sometimes and has a mean British Cockney accent. She makes me laugh.
Tony: does belong in the 462 and he is Nick and Jackie's brother. Tony just graduated last week with a degree in Bio-Chemistry. He is wicked smart, even though he doesn't think so, and he is also wicked funny, which he knows. One of the first conversations I had with Tony was about missions and the nations and I knew, I knew, that this would be a person I would like. A person I would want to be my friend. And I was right.
Amos: is just like Sean. Make Sean a little shorter, a little funnier, a lot better dancer, and you have Amos. Amos has eyes that smile a lot. Amos asks hard questions that don't necessarily have answers, the kind of questions you wish had answers, but don't. The kind of questions all of our kids will be asking in thirty years, still without answers.
______________________________________________________
There are more, or will be more, but this is it for now. These are the people I'm talking about when I say makeshift family. These are the people with whom I share my life and my house and my faith and my struggles. I love each of them a lot. I love each of them in ways I didn't expect to love them---and I am a better person because of them. And now you know a little about them too.
posted by Lore at 16.5.06
5 Comments:
Hmmm...what a pleasant synopsis of us... Though, I must say that Beca must be a lot quieter around you than she was with us...because "quiet" isn't the first word that pops into my mind when I think of her:) (you can tell her I said that)
"J's girlfriend"...it has a nice ring to it, does it not:) I think so.
Missing YOU.
Well, Hippo-Kelly, it's just Bec and me at home right now, so you can imagine that it's not very loud and there isn't very much fun to be had, since you funsetters are all MIA!
I'll deposit your check manana and deposit some love along with it. It's almost like looking at the same full moon miles apart from one another. You'll be using the money that I deposit even though we're far far away from each other. Almost. Not quite.
Yeah. Not quite.
love you.
You are so blessed to have found such wonderful friends in your new home.
you do have quite a gaggle of geese to hang out with.
Your descriptions of your friends make me think you've known them all your life! What wonderful people God has put in your life! And I know you are a wonderful part of theirs, too.
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