Living Novels

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the glory of being absorbed by a novel. I am now a little bit absorbed by life.

There are these moments in life when it all unfolds like a novel. The characters, the emotions, the plot—it all has an uncertain introduction, rising action and conflict, a climax, and then dénouement. At the end of the intensity of the experience, you stumble into your journal thinking, “what was that?”

I feel as if I’ve lived about four of these in the past few weeks, one after another. I barely recover from one life-novel when I find myself in the middle of another. Today is a day in-between those moments, so I’m lying on my couch back in Pittsburgh, breathing and thinking.

Teaching in New York, staying with my grandparents, going to a yoga and prayer conference, and then returning to Pittsburgh each had mini plot-lines. It’s like reading two 800 and two 400 page novels back-to-back, and then crashing at home for a day. If reading novels can be powerful and need debriefing, how much more so real life? Thankfully, I have some fantastic friends in Pittsburgh who graciously feed me as we catch up. (Seriously--thank you for the food!)

On a really good note: I now have more available research than I know what to do with for my masters thesis.

I’m now off on yet another adventure: maid of honor in Ohio. Woo hoo!