i want blue ceilings.

I want blue ceilings and a front porch swing where the sun hits just right in the magic hours. I want wood floors and a fire in the fireplace and light streaming in all the windows. I want to spend nights laughing in the kitchen and curled up with a good book. I want to wake up early and go to bed on time. I want to rest fully and fitfully because I live my days good and hard. I want to read more poetry and work with my hands and not forget who I was and who I am becoming. I want to listen to music that gets me lost in my thoughts and makes me happy. I want to write letters to friends and call when I say I’ll call.  I want to offer up my stories as proof of my existence. I want to play the piano and let our clothes dry in the afternoon sun. I want friends who bring me peace and encouragement and comfort. I want a garden it looks like God grew and a house the whole neighborhood knows. I want to pray and not stop, to find Him in the loud and in the quiet. I want to sit and do nothing and go out and do something. I want to paint my fingernails and leave twinkle lights up year-round. I want family and adventure and a place to return home. I want the best this life has to offer, not because I deserve it, but because that is what I have been given.

{photo by Annie Coggan; post inspired by the Shauna Niequist quote I love so much.}