Best first-day-back-in-the-Bay-Area, ever

I spent yesterday with my "Calabash" family (that doesn't refer to a squash; it comes from a TV show that waaaay predates me), being spoiled completely rotten with love and hang-out time.

They just kept surprising me, and it's not even my birthday yet. Brunch after church turned into wandering around the Ferry Building and the waterfront, turned into an incredibly fabulous dinner (yes, we made it). All of us had time; I don't start class until tomorrow. We talked forever, about community, family, home, San Francisco, whatever came up. It was so easy, and so much fun. It was family time. They told me, and they showed me, what I mean to them.

I already knew--and that's part of the amazingness. I know that I can drink as much as I want. It isn't rationed. I can take in, and I can give back. I'm not chugging so fast that I choke. I think that's another gift of the summer, as much as it's a gift from them. I know absolutely, this is a God thing.

I didn't get home until ten. None of us set out on purpose to give me the day--it just unfolded. It is, and was, a gift to all of us--and that is grace out loud.

Co-creation is... yes.

***
Yeek, I had to make a new label for this post. How have I kept a blog for over two years, without ever addressing simple, still, grace-struck gratitude?