Hey, friends! 

I spent July 29th-August 1st in Connecticut with Rachel, her husband Matt, and her daughters Caroline and Julia. Although my rule for this summer was that each person I shadowed must be someone I didn't know, I bent the rules a bit for this stop. Caroline, who's eleven, was my kamper last year when I was a counselor at Kanakuk. When I met Rachel at the end of the term, we figured out that we had both been in the same sorority at Samford. We stayed a bit in touch over the year, so Rachel saw The Summer Shadow when I posted about it on Facebook. When she voiced chagrin that she couldn't submit because we'd met before, I told her to go ahead and do it. I decided that my quick introduction to Rachel last summer didn't disqualify me from a stay with such a precious family this summer. 

I'll do a whole long post soon, about Rachel and my sweet time at her home, but for now here's the camera-roll high notes. 

The guest room. It was entirely my favorite color. Look at all the beautiful white! I arrived in Connecticut after a long stint of city-living. Though I of course loved DC and NYC, the Connecticut outdoors were refreshing. 

Nothing deep here, just a salad that made me happy + tasted amazing.

Doug the dog, who I'd heard about for days last year at kamp and finally got to meet. Caroline likes to imagine a place called "The Land of the Wild Dogs," a land without humans where dogs roam free, so when the bestseller children's book series based on that idea comes out by an author named Caroline, know that you heard it first here. 

And finally, Caroline herself! I'll write all about Rachel and my time in Connecticut (hopefully!) tomorrow, but hope you enjoyed this little snapshot for now!

I know it's been probably a week since I posted—I took a few days off, then didn't get on the wifi at my most recent shadow in Connecticut. Kind of by accident and kind of because I didn't care to. :) But here's one last post about NYC with Anna—just the classic notebook doodle post, minus the doodles cause I just wasn't feelin it—then I'll write all about my time in Connecticut!

I really liked Anna. So much.

I usually don’t think about whether or not I like people. I’m not here to like people; I’m here to love them. And more specifically to this summer’s project, I’m here to learn from them. Although I often end up liking people without making a decision about it, because once you empathetically listen to someone, it’s hard to hate them.

But even in my first few hours with Anna, my mind (or heart or whatever) told me that I really liked her. “Interesting,” I replied to myself, then dismissed it and kept listening or showering or whatever I was doing.

On Monday, Anna and I walked the four blocks from her Queens apartment to the yellow line metro stop. I sat opposite her on the train—her short, curly hair hugs her face, and her red cat-eye glasses frame generous eyes and mirror her bright red pants. The car filled up as we worked our way into Manhattan, and I was peeking through the legs of commuters at each stop to check for the flash of red pants assuring me that I hadn’t missed our stop. Eventually the space was too overrun for my kiddish trick to work, and I sat alone, not making eye contact and thus looking very local. Eventually someone tapped me—I looked up to a flick of a smile and a tilt of the cat-eye glasses. It was time: we climbed the subway stairs, crossed Wall Street, and went into work.

Day 2: This, sadly, is my only picture of Anna. I didn't think I was going to post it, because Anna didn't even know I took it, but I showed it to one of my friends and she loved it—"I hope I look that effortless and amazing one time on the subway." Also, don't fire me, but I just noticed that her glasses aren't actually red. Forgive my fictive imagination.

Anna is the financial aid director for a small college in Manhattan. From nine to five on Monday and Tuesday, we sat in her office and answered emails and made phone calls. Well, she did that, and I sat behind her catching up on blogging and emails and such. Apparently I take the term “shadow” very literally. I’m sure that since I’ve left, her office feels much bigger.

Last summer, I had an internship in an office from nine to five, so I know what it’s like to have long work days. But my work days with Anna didn’t seem long. There were small things: her office was lit with lamps rather than fluorescent lights. A shelf lines one wall, stacked neatly with books and topped by small glass bottles. The walls have a corkboard of cards, old posters about NYC, and an old-school pennant that reads “votes for women!” The days didn’t seem long, and I think it’s because they were productive, productivity punctuated by conversations with Anna.

Anna has an aura of subtle camaraderie with the world around her. When we met, she hopped into my car to help me find a parking spot on the darkening summer streets. Once at work, I got to hear her call students and tell them they’d won a significant scholarship for the upcoming year. But even when she was on phone calls (I would say “difficult” phone calls, but I think all phone calls are difficult, so that’s projecting), she was just as helpful as on the scholarship calls. Her roommate Laura has been working at the same college as Anna but is about to switch jobs, and for the going-away surprise party at work, Anna was delightfully particular about her contribution, acquiring swanky cake balls from a famous bakery and Laura’s favorite coffee in bulk. Not because Anna loves buying sugary foods she’ll let everyone else eat, but because Anna loves Laura.  

But the reason I liked Anna, I realized, is because I’m like Anna. Or, actually, I hope I’m like Anna. She’s introverted yet (more appropriately, and) a strong leader. Her apartment is darling—colorful, cozy, homey. She is equally competent in financial aid and fashion and fitness and fun. Her roommates Laura and Jill were delightful—fun and funny and kind and kind of adorable. Anna has made conscious decisions to live well and now acts on these decisions out of habit. 

If that’s adulting, I’m so down.