all this and heaven too...

last weekend i was in the adirondacks. you've heard me rant about new york before.

but this new york is different. we flew into syracuse and had to drive two-ish hours north/north-east to get to the town where jordan grew up. the house he grew up in. the school he went to... it was pretty magical. which, i find so interesting, because he currently lives around the corner from where i went to high school. in my city. he can hear the bells that signal passing period.

but anyway... what i found so magical is the very deep rooted and true love that his family has for this part of the world. the north country. his father and brother, especially, kept remarking at how beautiful everything looked. and they live there (well, sort of... braden lives in ithaca, but for a native californian, like me... it's almost the same thing). they see this everyday. i admired, so much, each of their ability to stop, and take it all in. again and again.

braden and i were sitting at the (most incredible vintage diner-style-complete-with-vinyl-covered-chairs!!!!!!) table, looking out over the lake, when he said, this is heaven to me. he's a pretty poetic guy.  really? i asked. and without skipping a beat, he asked where my heaven is. i had to skip so many beats. i stumbled and stuttered before asking for more time to think about it... 

and i've thought about it so much since i left the north country. because, in that moment... sitting with this gorgeous home-grown mountain gang, that could very well be a heaven. 

i have so many heavens.

anywhere with tony and louise.

anywhere with jordan.

brown ledge.

sarah lawrence.

hawai'i.

hana and john's front yard.

the ocean at the end of santa ana avenue.

l.a. in the sunshine.

rome.

nice.

i'll take the universe as my heaven, please.