Happy birthday, dear one.

Dearest Readers,

October 9th is my sweet friend's birthday. October 9th is today. You should all eat some cake and play happy music and decorate your house with streamers because life is short and you should eat as much cake as possible but also because today is the day Becca was born and that is SUCH a huge thing to celebrate!

She encouraged young, awkward Claire when I joined a sign language choir and she was my first leader. (Even when I signed "hope" with both hands on opposite sides of my head...:))

She encouraged me again when I moved into a leadership role in the choir.

And she encouraged me again when I moved on from the sweet group.

She was always the first one to call when my brothers were hospitalized.

She comforted me when I visited her in the hospital because she knew I was worried.

She didn't think it was weird to play 50's music all afternoon and make french fries and milkshakes.

She drank said milkshakes with a smile even though they were basically just chocolate milk.

She didn't mind when I bought the same shoes she had because I liked them.

Or when I made her go buy some shoes to match mine.

She took me to Disneyland. Twice.

She made me laugh when I tried to tell her we were moving and couldn't get the words out because I was trying not to cry.

She let me invite myself to her house all the time....

Especially the last week we were in Arizona when I was at her house almost everyday. Even then it wasn't enough time. One of those days (actually two because our {precious} videographer may or may not have filmed it crooked the first time...haha) we made a video signing For Good from Wicked. You can watch it here.
It was the perfect way to wrap up six wonderful years together in Arizona. The words are everything I would have said if I was as eloquent as Stephen Schwartz!


It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime, so let me say before we part; so much of me is made of what I learned from you; you'll be with me, like a handprint on my heart. And now whatever way our stories end; I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend.


Becca, Happy 23 years!  Thank you for being your wonderful self--you bless my heart. I am so, so thankful for you and for our years being within driving distance. I can't wait to cram enough memories for another scrapbook into my next visit. I love you to Arizona and back.

Always,
 Claire

Hug and Release

Dearest Readers,

I only have a couple of more days before school, theater, and various other obligations will consume my time, so I'm taking advantage of it by giving you a much needed update. :)

Happy 2015! This new year holds much change for my family and I. I'm not always a big fan of change, even if I know it's going to be a good thing. I hold on to my people, these moments, tightly, and with both hands. Sometimes it's a good thing--like when I left Argentina, I knew I had held on to every second so tightly that I couldn't have possibly missed a moment. It gave me satisfaction knowing I had cherished every.single.second to its fullest.

Sometimes, though, I take it too far. When I was little, I used to hug for so long my mom had to say, "Hug and release!" as a verbal reminder for me not to tackle my victim friend. Haha. I'm still like that in so many ways. God gives me something good, and I get so excited about it that I clench it up so tightly  it doesn't have any chance of escaping my grasp. Until He decides its time for that friend to move, or that chapter to end, or time for me to go to college. Somehow He wrenches what I've been holding so tightly and takes it back.

I've been excited about beginning the room mate search. I shortened my biography down to the required characters and emailed a couple of girls all in one day. I had a lovely correspondence with one, and despite finding out that she will most likely be rooming with a friend, got excited about meeting her when I got to campus. I was excited and kept checking my email.

My enthusiasm sort of fizzled out after I told my best friend I was going to Mississippi for college. It was like all of a sudden I was reminded of the bitter in the bittersweet of 2015 and all of its change. Until Monday, I hadn't checked my email in weeks.

I decided to log in on Monday, though, and was surprised to find a couple of  emails from girls looking for room mates. One even read my blog (if you're out there, hi, Lauren! :)), which totally touched my heart.


It's all a little overwhelming, to tell you the truth. It's being so excited for the future one moment, and so very sad at the end of this chapter the next. It's desperately needing friendships to be unchanged, but knowing that I can't make things stay exactly the same no matter how tight my grasp is. It's my heart swelling with the excitement of a new adventure and moving to my parents' home that I've always loved. It's wondering how sweet a long distance friendship might be and how cherished the reunions would become? It's figuring out where it's acceptable to go without makeup on in MS, because in AZ it's pretty much a free for all and my sweatpants really enjoy their freedom. :)

I'm so thankful for 2014. And 2013. And all of the past nine years that I have spent in Arizona, with its beautiful sunsets and so many loved ones. I'm so thankful for 2015. I know I will cram it with many, many memories in this state. I also know it will begin to fill up with new adventures and memories from Mississippi, and they'll be just as beautiful and precious. My prayer for this year is that I stop clutching each moment for dear life, and am able to cherish each moment with open hands that accept the fact that I am not in control. I know this year I'm going to have a gentle voice in my head telling me to "release". I never liked hearing that as a child, and I'm not going to like it now. But you know what? That release just means there's another hug coming later.

His plans are so much greater than any we could imagine. I know that's said a lot in church, and so you might have read that without even a thought, but take a moment to imagine that it's true. I know it might not seem like it in your present circumstances, but His plans include so many unseen things and a beautiful eternity that we can't even contemplate. He is good.

What is your prayer for this new year? I'm praying for you to have many cherished moments and peace in the knowledge that God is always in control.

Happy New Year! Feliz Año Nuevo!

Yours always,
Claire