“Sheets are swaying from an old clothesline/ Like a row of captured ghosts over old dead grass/ Was never much but we made the most/ Welcome home” -Radical Face (Welcome Home)

Tree leaves jingled against the clean April afternoon. Grass clippings were scattered throughout the sidewalk and smelled of home. Children were running down the smooth concrete from the school bus. Freshly painted bungalows dotted the streets and smiled hello. My favorite teapot garden shouted from the corner that I shouldn’t be such a stranger. And I felt a simple joy in it all.

I remember tiny moments that brought me joy-a friend leaving cupcakes on my doorstep, a sweet note from an old friend, the sweetest kiss just simply because I was walking his way. They all were simple and did not require any effort; I simply had to be open to receiving them. Sometimes, I think the hardest thing to do is to allow things to happen to you. I used to push and manipulate things into being, but they almost never ended how I expected.

However, the moments that were never forced, the loveliest moments that just happened upon me, the moments that will stay with me always-my best friend writing a song for me, strolling across the lawn of the Biltmore House with him and wanting to pinch myself, an unexpected plane ticket to go home for my Poppy’s funeral.

And as much as I am tempted to write my own story, my attempt will greatly miss the mark. So, for now, I am truly okay with the tiny things…and letting them all happen to me.