Patrick and Lauren Dukes: July

This blog is destined to be perpetually behind by a couple months. (Which is no surprise, since most of the time, I feel behind by a couple months. October? Already? Really? What happened to summer?)

July started off with a trip to South Carolina. We had wanted to spend some time with our families and then found out that our dear friend Matt Pepper was getting married and that it was sure to be the reunion of the century, with the revolving-door that was our small group for the three years we spent in Clemson before we got married. So we took the whole week off and flew south.

I neglected to take a single picture this week...so you'll just have to imagine with me.

We got to spend the 4th of July evening with my Dad's sisters and my cousins on that side. We caught nothing on fire, although a stray firework did hit a random pedestrian walking down the street by pure chance. (No damage, but poor guy.)

Briana was home, so on the 4th we visited the Carolina Raptor Center, which was pretty cool.

We went to see Patrick's family for a couple days too. We went to the zoo with Patrick's parents. We ate much more barbeque than we should have at The Palmetto Pig.

Then we went to Clemson. It was amazing to see so many of our dear friends at the same place and the same time. Matt led a young adult small group for at least the six years I was in Clemson, and probably before that, so it's really hard to overestimate the impact he's had on so many of us, and the depth of love all of us have for each other after so many years of shared meals, laughter, tears, prayer, and growth. As we sat at the rehearsal dinner together, the best words I can think of to describe it was just observing, celebrating, and enjoying the work of God in each other. Of course, the celebration was centered around Matt and Teresa, but I remember looking around the room and just thinking of how much I loved the people there and how I could just see how we are all growing and changing, but only learning to love one another more and more despite distance and separation. Praise God for the beautiful community he has knit together in our hearts.

We got on the plane to SC with many tears, missing our dear friends and families already, and sad to leave the quiet of rural life and return to our home on a busy street in Watertown. It's not until we get out of the city that we realize how much the constant noise and busyness wears us down.

A couple weeks later, my sister Briana came to stay for a week. We had so much fun. She explored museums during the day and in the evening we ate at our favorite places--Ariana, Otto Pizza, Toscanini's, Cuchi Cuchi for her birthday celebration, Legal Sea Foods. We went to the Revere Beach Sand Sculpture competition. About when we were done, it started to drizzle. We made it to the parking deck just in time--a terrible hailstorm came! What a sad end to such cool art.