handle with pride

i was faced with a decision today. i could do all the productive, time-consuming, school-related obligations i've been dealing with for the past week, or i could knock back a few of these at one of my favorite fort worth people's birthday.

i chose the latter, and it was definitely the right choice.

and i brought my favorite summer beer, say what you will (though i believe very few if any of you will recognize it), shiner ruby redbird.

------

one of those perfect, just perfect texas summer afternoons. not too hot today, just low-to-mid 90's and low humidity for us. a nice summer breeze. so nice i walked to the grocery for the beer and then walked to byron & melissa's from there for the party.

drinking beers, chatting, eating homemade potato salad and banana pudding, and we even got a brief little texas thunderstorm (not much rain for us - it was mostly east of here - but welcome nonetheless). just an all-around perfect afternoon that you didn't want to see end.

i have such a tough time imagining leaving these people - i've said it before and i'll say it again. you can live somewhere and have a few great friends and it's fine, or you can live somewhere and have a lot of acquaintances and that's fine, too. but you know you've found home when you have a real community - a network of people that are just so wonderful and filled with love. so it is with fort worth and i feel heartbroken to step outside of that bubble - even if i'm not going very far.

byron is an awesome guy with a great sense of humor who never fails to make me laugh. he & melissa hosted a perfect party today and as always i am reminded - through laughs with them, brina, and others - that this is such a great place and that these people are home.

so thanks, fort worth. i might have known you all my life but you took a group of people and you settled in my bones in ten short months and now you'll never leave me. and i've never known a place like that.

p.s. say hello to blowfish on his 500th blipday.