From January 2008, through February 2011, I lived in Fort Worth, TX. Its not that I necessarily had anything against Texas, but never in my life did I plan on living here. I seem to do a lot of things I never planned on doing. People have asked me why I left my job, and came back to school. It seemed crazy to some, to others I finally looked like myself for the first time in a long time. It was both the hardest and easiest personal decision I’ve ever made. Both chaos and peace. I haven't tried to write about that time. I probably will at some point. But this is not that story…

This story is about a home named Lady Bird Manor. In honor of the former First Lady from Texas: Lady Bird Johnson. I like to name the homes I live in. At first Lady Bird was home to me, Kim, Sarah & MariAnne. When Miss MariAnne became a Mrs., Krissie moved in. When Miss Krissie became a Mrs., Kayla moved in. When I graduated and moved out this past February, Allison took my place. Soon after our original move in date we thought it would be fun to have a photo shoot to decorate our new home. Not one of these were ever framed, but here is the result (first generation Lady Birds: Kim, MariAnne, Sarah, me):

 
                

      


Naming the house ended up helping us bond. We weren't just roommates...we were Lady Birds. That's kind of silly, but life is too short to not have some silly. As of tomorrow (forgive me for the following cheesy phrase) all the Lady Birds will have flown the coop. (I fought myself to not include that line, but there you have it.) We considered setting Lady Bird on fire. Thinking it might be better to watch her burn, than let someone else move in and not know how truly wonderful of a home she is. But since none of us are nuts, and we are too busy to go to prison, we have decided to just gracefully let her go; praying God bless the next tenants as much as he did us in our time living there. We hope they appreciate her, and have enough furniture to take full advantage of her spacious floor plan.

Our little home on South Dr. in Fort Worth, TX had a lot of old school style. Some fancy wallpaper, central speaker system throughout, wood-burning fireplace, working trash compactor, some indoor ironwork, and beautiful sanctuary of a backyard. In the 60's Lady Bird Manor would have been high class...like Lady Bird Johnson in her day...which is how our home got her name. For some reason it was just more fun to not just “go home,” but to go home to Lady Bird. It was more inviting to ask friends over for game night or to cookout at Lady Bird; to put on invitations for birthdays, going away and holiday parties: "Location: Lady Bird Manor." When Lady Bird's living room was a mess, geckos were climbing her walls and taking showers with us, water flooding her floors, her air-conditioner running non-stop, her grass too high, her fence falling down, ginormous possums roaming her backyard, or mice roaming her pantry we could scold her, and not each other. "Lady Bird your grass needs mowed," or "Lady Bird your kitchen is a mess."

Lady Bird's Back Porch

At Lady Bird "night-night" time was observed at a decent hour. Rainy Sunday afternoons were spent on the back patio with books and coffee and Jesus. There was a lot of coffee and Jesus. At Lady Bird if you didn't pay rent you didn't park in the driveway. At Lady Bird you could say out loud what was bottled up inside. Lady Bird's bushes were lovingly (and aggressively) trimmed, and her varieties of flowers in bloom year round thanks to Mr. Hernandez who built the house and designed her landscape. Lady Bird had twinkle lights that made the back yard magical at night, but added delight to the daytime just as often. Friends came to take Sunday afternoon naps at Lady Bird and curl up on one of her four couches under one of her many blankets. While preparing a meal one had more than adequate lighting in Lady Bird's kitchen. LB hosted the MMC bible study each Tuesday night. Lady Bird had her doorways anointed with oil and covered with prayer. Lady Bird's favorite movie was Anne of Green Gables. Lady Bird loved a good game night, and Karaoke always included Son of a Preacher Man and ended with Drops of Jupiter to mellow it all out. At Lady Bird slippers were in style, preferably pink. Lady Bird liked to play her music loud especially African worship music and Motown. Bath time at Lady Bird was a choreographed routine and serious business. Lady Bird had delicious chocolate chip cookies and really good bean dip, and her favorite ring tone went like this…"You are my strong tower...”

Lady Bird hosted study groups and showers; planned weddings and life after Seminary. Lady Bird showed a lot of grace for our moments of crazy; like the time I walked all the way to my room in the dark, angry that my car key clicker wasn’t turning the lights on (school can be hard on a person.) Fires were built, tears were shed, exclamations were exclaimed, papers were written, walls were brought down, hearts were strengthened, laughs were laughed, and love was shared, even when my speaker wasn’t, at Lady Bird Manor. I love you B's, and every friend who played with us, prayed with us, cried with us, ate with us, laughed with us, sang with us and shared not only Lady Bird Manor with us, but some of my favorite moments ever. Moments I never even planned on...

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy." Psalm 16:11