Go Outside

By Lauren Slattery

Photo from Lindsay Love

I have started and deleted about three paragraphs off of this doc since I first started writing. There are so many things I could say and want to say that I am having a hard time finding a place to start.

I could tell you about the titles I had written before this draft stuck and all about the stories I was ready to write. Now, I cannot remember the titles, but the thoughts are still there - on friends, and the weather, and the sweet dog sitting next to me.

I could tell you about how I am writing to you from my front porch swing because the weather is beautiful, and 65° and sunny is my perfect day. The sky is my favorite color, and I love campus in the spring because everyone and everything just seems lighter. 

I could argue that the groundhog was wrong this year because no way with weather this perfect could there be six more weeks of winter. I hate to think that the sun is going to go away again as fast as it came because I am not ready for everyone to go back inside. 

I could tell you about the group of boys down the street holding a sign that says, “You honk, we drink,” and how I’ve laughed every time someone honks, and they scream back even though it happens every five minutes. I could argue that this has been the best afternoon I’ve had in a few weeks because the weather softens everything.

I could tell you how my muscles hurt from the long run I had on Sunday and about the anxiety building inside of me whenever I remember I have a marathon in 18 days. 

I could tell you about all the people I love and how I now love so much of what they love because I first loved them. Things like running, books, music, coffee, and the list goes on and on. 

But instead, I’ll tell you to go outside in case the groundhog is right.