hello goodwill.

As my closet grows with the addition of recently purchased work attire, I find myself overwhelmed with my inability to let things go. It's true. I keep everything. My mom laughs at me because when I go off to school in the fall, I leave behind an entire closet (and many drawers) full of clothes. I am still baffled by this, when I really think about it, but I come to the same conclusion every time: I have too many clothes.

I make excuses. That is how I find myself in the position I am in, an innocent shopper with an overbearing closet. I don't wear this shirt, well I might if that one shirt of mine is in the wash, or if I happen to lose that other shirt. It's this type of thinking that leads to overstuffed drawers and indecision.

The other issue: I LOVE clothes and I HATE saying goodbye. Yes, some things are definitely easy to say goodbye to, like my teenage Rue 21 wardrobe (don't worry, that's been gone for a long time), or my sequence "what was I thinking my freshman year of college" going out shirts. But there are other articles of clothing, however, that are not so easy to say goodbye to. Championship t-shirts, pajama bottoms from past travels, and other things that provoke memories.

I wish that these memory-provoking articles of clothing were the biggest issues I have, but unfortunately they are not. I have things that I have not worn for years sitting in the bottoms of my drawers, crying to be let loose, but I am like an overly protective mother who just can't let her children go. It just doesn't seem right.

I know, from my good friends Jordan and Whitney (who would be mortified if they took one look at my closet), that decluttering and creating space is a refreshing and rejuvenating experience. Perhaps I don't have much personal experience with this because of my desire to keep and save, but I can only imagine how it must feel to not have to shove clothes aside to fit the adorable new cardigan I just bought, into its new home. Aw, what a relief that would be.

My newest goal: declutter. I must clean out my closet and my drawers, going through every single article of clothing and asking myself, "do I really need this?" Aren't you proud girls?

This will be a difficult task, but I feel confident that I can overcome my tendencies to save, and let go of the things I should have said goodbye to years ago. Sounds like a somewhat daunting task. Well, wish me luck.

the other side.

For as long as I remember I have been considered an "athlete". This of course changed in college, considering I wasn't quite good enough for the collegiate level, but I still saw myself that way.

It's funny because Kyle, along with my close college friends, have not seen my athletic side, the side that defined me for the majority of my high school career. They have seen my more girly and social side. This, I don't find to be a negative thing, but just an intriguing thing to contemplate.

Having begun assisting with the volleyball program at Lawrence Central, I have found excitement and enthusiasm in meeting my old athletic self again. It's not necessarily that I lost it through my college years, but that competitive environment wasn't near what I had experienced in my past.

It is different though, being a coach. I so badly want to get in on every drill and game, hoping to kill a ball and relive those exciting days on the court. It's a lot harder than I had expected it to be, to simply instruct. We do make the effort to get in and play with the girls, allowing them the opportunity to get to know us better and feel comfortable with us, but we also selfishly just want to play.

Today we were demonstrating and teaching the footwork for hitting. Being an outside hitter, Megan relied on me to help demonstrate what the appropriate approach is and the timing that goes along with it. This is not easy, but it felt amazing once everything fit. Feeling myself fall into the steps and rhythm of kill was perfect, and oh, how I wish I could play again.

Don't get me wrong. There is something so wonderful about coaching, and I have realized just how much passion I have for it, but that passion comes from years of playing. I can only hope this won't be my last date with the court.

still beautiful.

Happy Birthday Mamma Mia!

the (almost) perfect date.

With Kyle's departure looming over us, we were determined to make his last weekend a good one. We planned out our dates, and fit in as much as we could without overdoing it. I'd have to say, we were pretty successful.

Now, the only reason I say it is an "almost" perfect date, is for one simple reason. If I said it was "absolutely perfect", then I would be leaving no room for Kyle to even attempt to out-do himself, and therefore I would be doing him a disservice by limiting the possibilities of future dates to come. In other words, this is by no means meant to discredit our romantic weekend, but to give Kyle the hope and motivation to be creative and keep thinking of new things for us to do and explore together.

I'm sure you'll be able to see what I mean.

Friday

5:00 pack drinks, dessert, blankets, mosquito candles, and sweatshirts
5:30 Pick up large spinach and sausage pizza from Union Jack's
6:00 Arrive at Indiana Museum of Art and stake out our place at the outdoor theatre area
6:15 Eat our yummy pizza with our crispy cool Diet Cokes
6:30 Breeze through the beautiful galleries of the art museum
8:00 Play a game of Sorry!, as the sun begins to fall behind the shade of the trees
9:30 Gilda, a 1946 romance starring Rita Hayworth, begins as we cozy up under the stars.

Saturday

Sleep in, make homemade biscuits for breakfast, shower, and pack up.
12:00 Arrive at the Indianapolis Zoo (pet both an elephant and sharks)
3:00 Leave the Zoo and head to the White River
3:45 Rent 2 single kayaks, and kayak through downtown Indianapolis (we planned to stay downtown for dinner, but our butts go so wet, we had to go home to change)
6:30 Enjoy dinner and drinks at Buca di Beppo
7:30 Grocery shopping (Mom, Dad and Karley asked us to make dinner for them when they return on Sunday, so we stocked up)
8:30 Cozy up on the couch and enjoy a movie, before heading to bed exhausted after a long and fun weekend

As I read over our weekend again, I think I realize just how special it was. If I'm not careful, Gilda may even leave Johnny to steal Kyle away from me, and I wouldn't blame her one bit.