Yes, there were happy times, too.

After that last post, I feel that I should reassure my readers (all 2 of you!!), and perhaps even myself, that there have been happy times as well. I recently dug out some old photo albums and ran across these*, which are representative of some of the happiest times of my life:



No, I was not off to war. Rather, I was attending a "War Party" in the days before my generation realized war could be something the United States actually did, and not just in the movies. My friend Tony is standing by, clearly ready to yank my ass up if I fall from overindulging in whatever it was that I was drinking from that huge mug. Tony was an excellent friend who always had my back and I always had an excellent time when hanging out with him.



Dancing wildly, for a reason I can no longer remember, at some point during law school. There may not have been a reason, as Glenn and I had a tendency to photograph ourselves in funny poses; we were very vain that way. I know for certain that no drinking was involved in this one; I have no idea why he was even in town for this picture. It may have been to attend the wedding of a mutual friend, but I'm really not sure. As you can see, I remember a lot about the law school years.



With friends Rafe and Paul, at the party they threw in celebration of my law school graduation/completion of the bar exam/departure on a backpacking trip in Europe before beginning life in the working world. These guys were treasured friends and I felt very loved and cherished by them and everyone else who attended these festivities. I was also in a zen state of happiness at this time in my life, not looking back and not looking very far ahead either.



With my friend Colleen, at my 10-year high school reunion. I didn't want to attend, thinking that I would not enjoy myself. But I actually had a great time and loved catching up with everyone. Afterward, I spent the night with my friend Beth and her family and we talked over all of the happenings from the reunion, savoring the details, a practice we continue to this day.

Just remembering all of these times makes me want to reach for all that is good and happy in my life now, embrace it, and do everything I can to expand upon it.

* Yes, I realize the quality of these photos is terrible--these are pictures of pictures, due to a sad and seemingly unfixable glitch in my scanner. I am secretly hoping that someone who is coming to visit me next weekend will be able to solve this problem so that you never have to suffer through such poor quality photography again.