People you care about are sweet. This weekend I got to hang out with my older brother, sister in law, and niece one day, a bunch of friends being crazy on a lake another day, and with other friends at a beautiful wedding tonight. If I think about the best times in my life, I don't think of activities, I think of people. I've played golf at Bandon Dunes, dominated at Bible Quizzing, punted in Cambridge, scavenger hunted in London, road tripped to the Final Four, swam in pristine waters on Kauai, and much much more. And yet the best times in my life have been late night conversations with people: sneaking into Matt's bedroom after our bedtimes and talking until sometimes sunrise, with Kellen when he would wrangle my various crushes out of me, TCL and staff sleeping on the dock, up on the high dune at the Boersma's cottage, with JP until we fell asleep, with Katie until 3 am, with Chris and Abbe a few nights ago until 1, and others. Those conversations have shaped thoughts, beliefs, friendships, and lives. There's something about talking in the wee hours of the morning that fosters realism. People finally "take off their masks, no one is perfect." Too often we surface talk, afraid to be real. But when you're real with friends who you know won't think any differently of you no matter what you say, a deep bond develops. It's why talking with my little brother is my favorite thing in life; why Lakeside Bible Camp is my favorite place on earth; and why I'm going to make a point of visiting my college friends no matter where they are.
Along with that I'm reminded of how special and rare it is to see true emotion, unfettered by thinking, reality, or rationality. You see it in little kids, when sons, brothers, fathers, and husbands go off to war and when the come back, when a father gives away his daughter and when the bride and groom look out at their loved ones for the first time as husband and wife, when people run into someone else unexpectedly, when athletes succeed at the highest level of their sport, and when parents see their newborn for the first time. It's completely pure, unselfish, serene, and powerful. We don't see them often enough in the more mundane goings on of everyday life, even though there's no reason not to live without abandon, with the continual wonder of a child.
