an ode to the cliched 'like best summer eva'

it's pretty common, as a midwesterner, for september to hit and the record to scratch repeat "that was the best summer ever", "oh my god, best summer of my life". i get it. we live for those three months. then nearly every other month of the year, that leads back up to it its "I can't wait until it's summer". as silly as praising the season seems, we've both have found incredible value in the importance of checking in. with your surroundings. with your partner. with your mom every once & awhile. with yourself. and yes, the seasons. giving equal gratitude to moments that are rare as the ones that are common has been difficult but overwhelmingly rewarding. doing our best to not take any of our experiences or our loved ones for granted. living on the sentiment that gratitude is really the true vessel for happiness, both metaphysically, spiritually, and scientifically. to be grateful in every given moment. again, it's an incredible difficult task, as we're always looking of the next best thing. living in millennial society where everything is fast fast fast, and technology grows and changes faster than most plants do. it's hard. it's really hard to take the time, to stop, to look around, and give each moment it's proper respect and gratitude. but in our quest to push our betterment of living and continue the progressive nature of cultivating your identity in your twenties, hannah and i are working to make this a common practice. in late may, my youngest sister graduated high school. being there, witnessing that moment attuned me to the beauty of my family's seamless ability to spreads their love, and particularly how they make space for hannah. - - - in late june, we came back from eaux claires new human beings. the experience was magic and radically changed the way hannah and I look at the world & interact on the day to day. we are much stronger now. feel much more alive in many ways. - - - not but a week later, we started this, perhaps our greatest achievement this season. we have conversations about it all of the time and it feels incredible. though we’ve done nothing unbelievable. in many ways, this blog is the first step towards a dream we both share, one of ease, simplicity and love, without ever leaving each other’s sight. days where our hands are held tight and I’m with her all damn day. - - - then a memento, we got matching tattoos! a action that in reflection seems very commensurate of a grander purpose. a mistake that more than one made. an understandable one. we’re young, midwestern lovebirds, what else do they do? well, ironically, these lovebirds marked their bodies to remember to remain young. - - - wow. then we found our home. our first true home in Chicago. a place that truly feels aligned. if you know the feeling then you know but if you don’t, I’m not quite sure how to describe it to you. I feel more like my authentic self than I did before and because of where I lay my head at night which sounds nuts. but damn it, it truly feels that great. - - - perhaps one of my most treasured memories, a place that may hold a place in my heart as full of wonder as it does for her. door county, wi leaves me speechless not by its beauty or small town charm, both of which it has much of, but the air there is joyous, a thickness of light and uplifting life. there’s sense there that I want to keep in my body, sense of rest, like you’ve finally arrived. I’m thankful that this summer will not be the last I see of it. - - - saw sylvan esso again, this time at a private show. a source of energy that I’ll see again and again. - - - to end it all, we took our first real vacation together. a proper vacation to explore somewhere we’ve both never been. louisville gave us what we both sought after, the reality of what it looks like when it’s just the two of us, with no restrictions, responsibility or bills, just two people making stuff together. - - - this season had many highs, lows as well, that will sustain us for much time to come. I’m so thankful for all we’ve done and all we’ve learned and all of the time we were together and stopped to take it in, and give it what it deserved.