Aug 3rd.

Dear Seven Eleven Man,

Ok. So I know that we've basically become best friends because of our daily interactions. I slide in and try to be nonchalant about that fact that I'm back. again. You say, "Hello! How are you!" in your most chipper customer service voice. I smile and say something along the lines of. "great! peachy! wonderful!" and then you charge me one oh eight for my fountain drink.

Our relationship was going great.

I knew you were starting to figure me out. I could read the signs you know. First it started with the subtle hints ("Is this a refill?") but over time the cues were more and more obvious ("Do you have our 7/11 app? You should definitely get it!"). I knew. I'm telling you. I knew you were on to me.

But today, you pinned me down.

Our usual interaction was going as to be expected.

"It's going to be one oh eight", you said.

I slid you the cash and smiled as you made some coy joke about something I didn't really understand.

And then it happened.

"What's your name by the way? I see you in here all the time"

dang it.

On the plus, Seven Eleven Man, you have helped me realized that I have an unhealthy appetite for your dollar Diet Cokes.

But I mean, I can't stop now right? We are on a first name basis.

Sincerely,

That one tall girl with the long blonde hair.

(Or I guess now you know, Kaitlyn)

Awe-ful.

Everyday I make the lengthy (3 block) journey from my apartment to campus.

And everyday, as my feet pound the cracked sidewalk, and my right ear enjoys the melodies streaming from my earbuds, I create awkward glances and brief half-smiles at innocent passerby's.

And everyday, just as I make it to the corner, I see something that makes me smile. The real kind of smile. A small, hunched, hispanic women curled up in her camp chair offering goodness to the world.

"Tamales!" she says.

This time my teeth actually show a little bit as I mutter a faint, "hello" under my breath and prepare for the ascent up the the never ending stairs.

In the background I hear the muffled sounds of, "Tamales! .... Tamales!"

and I smile.

 The other day I was listening to a BYU devotional. I do that sometimes. The topic of said devotional was, "personal excellence". I was interested because, hello. Who doesn't want to be excellent?

But something the speaker said really resonated with me. He said, "Be awe-ful".

Awe-ful.

He talked about how we, as people, tend to ignore the majesty and wonder that is the life we lead. We take for granted the miracles that are around us every day. He encouraged that we take time to smell the roses. That we find joy in the small, simple, and miraculous things that surround us everyday. He encouraged us to find our roses in December. Those things that bring us joy and make us have that unavoidable grin on our faces, even when it seems unfathomable to be so.

That's what the tamale lady is to me. And that is why I am here. To share the roses I have found even in the midst of my Decembers.