early morning stroll in paris

hey gid.

I knew it was asking a lot to wake up at 5:30 so we could take pictures, but you went along with it anyway. You even put on an especially nice outfit. I didn't even have to ask. 

Cloudy with on and off showers,

...and the occasional stray dog looking for a photo op.

Waking up early when you're already jet lagged is no fun, but having pictures without crowds of people in the background is worth it to me. I'm lucky that it's worth it to you too.

Now I just have to sort through the pictures we took and find the perfect one (two, three, four... ugh, eighteen) to frame.

And I've got you to thank for that. So thank you for the early drizzly morning. Thank you for such an unforgettable trip. And thank you for being my very best boy in the whole world. I love you with everything I've got.

ps- thank you also for taking some really special shots of me on the trip.
Its nice to not always be the one behind the camera. 

lock on a bridge

dear rain, 

We woke up to your dreariness on our last day in paris. And while

the white covers of our warm bed begged us to stay, 

there was just one more thing I really wanted to do before we left the city of lights. 

I knew a thousand other people would be doing the same thing, and that we probably wouldn't be able to get in even one decent picture, but I knew I'd regret it if we didn't at least try. 

Your morning drizzle was hardly noticeable until it transformed into an afternoon downpour as we got on the bus to our destination. I tried to think of you as romantic ("paris in the rain" swoon), but inwardly I scowled, wishing you would have come the day after, when we would be gone. The usually crowded streets emptied- tourists and locals dodging into shops and cafes to avoid you.

When we got off of the bus, you were still determined. It was cold, and so wet. My feet and lower legs were completely drenched; I might as well have been playing in a splash park in february. But after we got off, and began walking the 2 minute journey to the bridge, we realized your downpour had dissolved into a much friendlier sprinkle. 

You had softened, but the normal crowds had completely vanished. 

With the exception of maybe 2 or 3 couples, the bridge was exclusively ours. 

I like to think that you brought yourself just for us, rain. That you intentionally came on our last day in a heavy downpour so that for just a few minutes, we could create memories that would last the rest of our lives with a small amount of privacy.

I know the love lock bridge is a tourist trap, and the notion of a rainy day in paris probably sounds horribly cliche and overly romantic to a lot of people. 

But I'll never forget it as long as I live. 

And I think it was you that made it the perfect day, rain. (Well, you and the fact that we were in paris…) 

So thank you. 

Sorry I ever doubted you. 

ps- here's a link to a short video I made of our time on the bridge friends. xo

dear june,

Oh june, I never thought you'd come. This year has been such a whirlwind already. The last time I wrote was december. December! A lot has happened since. I'll just sum it up, shall I? January- UC Berkeley for a somatic intensive, write and defend IMS thesis. February- Begin writing MFA thesis. March- edit edit edit-meet meet meet- rewrite rewrite rewrite, cry cry cry. April- More writing. More editing. More crying. Until finally, the thesis defense. In May I walked across the graduation stage and had the MFA hood placed over my head. Such a feeling. About a week after graduation my sweetheart and I did some lovely traveling.

Which brings us to this morning, June. I woke up around 4 am, unable to fall back asleep, and just listened to the first morning of your month. Soft breeze, glowing light seeping in gently. The sound of water- sprinklers maybe?

Such a relief to wake up in my own bed, even though so much of our future is still a question mark now that we've both graduated. Please be good to me, June. Last year was not my favorite summer. Of course, last year I still had the most intense two semesters of graduate school in front of me. I still can't believe it's come to an end.

June, I think I'll go sleep some more, ok?