Mei Grows Tall

Despite the fact that I’m the oldest I’ve ever been, I can say that 2009 has brought me the most pure, summery-summer of my life. It’s been a blissful rotation of bonfires, swimming, random adventures, pizza, fireflies, Chinese food, the zoo, sweating, tennis, crazy hair, pets, grass stains…you name it. I feel closer to my family than I have ever felt. I feel closer to my friends than I have ever felt. I feel closer to Hiro Nakamura than I have ever felt.
It’s not just what I’ve done, though. There’s a subtle difference from my past May-through-Augusts that I can’t quite string a word to. It’s the way the sparks float high at bonfires – how they intermingle with the stars when the sky turns rich navy blue. Smooth heat on my skin from cycles of swimming and drying, swimming and drying. Chlorine smells mixed with ginger and sweat. The way tan sunglasses make the sun brighter, the clouds whiter, and the sky deeply tinged with turquoise. These details have struck me with a finer grain.
The last bonfire was special, because I officially have become an eagle scout, or as close to one as I can become without being a man. I was trained by an eagle on how to build a fire and alas, it is done! Pictured above is the pinacle of my outdoors-man skill. (just don’t tell anyone we had no matches. Justin lit the tinder with a blow torch. It was a small torch!) I did it all by myself.