last train to clarksville

Last weekend I had the privilege to visit some (newly engaged!) good friends of mine who have relocated (one by federal orders, one by love) to Clarksville, TN. For most of the weekend we were inside, due to the Nashville area being underwater, but I wouldn't have it any other way. In between

• laughing hysterically at the absurdity of our Scatagories answers
• drinking mint juleps while cheering on the ponies
• 'family' dinners on the grill while the rain stopped for 12 minutes
• taking a group nap during a Netflix break and
• sobbing chaotically in the airport bathroom upon departure,

I realized that genuine friendships are extraordinary and scarce. I don't know how I got so lucky. Maybe it's good karma, maybe it's coincidence that the three of us were at Marquette at the same time, or maybe it's divine intervention that determined we were just what each other needed that brought us together. Whichever one it is, hold on to the friendships with seamless transitions of picking up where you left off, whether it's been five days or five months.

And now a picture compilation of some Tennessee snap shots...

you live where now?

bliss.

swimming to the car

top chef-clarksville

wait, are we still in clarksville?

thank you to the boy in skinny jeans who played sufjan while we ate brunch

this beauty is one of the strongest, innovative, most intelligent, nurturing souls i have ever met.

(she also looks like she walked out of an anthropologie catalog)

this man is a rare commodity, a true gentleman, a freethinking academic and when you hug him, he'll never be the first to let go.