Scruple the First

Things to love: scraping the brownie batter bowl, ice water, old photographs, snow days, childhood attempts at story-writing, college attempts at poetry-writing, cotton, sundresses, rainstorms, ice-skating, star-gazing, rosaries, adoration at midnight, journaling on the pier, kissing in the grocery store, driving with the windows down, reading under a blanket, playing fetch in the dog park, cooking over a camp fire, ski socks, family traditions, watermelon, dreams about people you know, coffee at retreat centers, holding a baby until he falls asleep.

Things to lose: criticism, gossip, old birthday cards, regret, pennies, nail-biting, reality TV, double-standards, one night stands, junk food, inauthenticity, syllabi, inhibitions, facades, “keeping up with the Jonses,” corsages, turtlenecks, blush, “emo,” gourmet sandwiches, planned vacations, hopelessness, relativism, skepticism, “love is a fantasy.”

Things that last:  holding hands, playing an instrument, living abroad, reading a book a week, hiking at dawn, drinking tea at sunset, Levi’s, adventure, curiosity, the backyard garden, old movies, mission trips, family recipes, birthday wishes, song lyrics, wedding vows, resolutions, turning points, creek pebbles.