This is a wish: When you are writing about a radish, that you and the radish meet face to face. That you stay specific, present, and direct and through your true intention the radish becomes RADISH. You instantaneously summon the particular and also give life to the essence of that buried root plucked up red and edible...

Listen to wishes like you listen to the wind. You don't think: what is it saying? You let the wind howl. That's all. Autumn will come, the night turn blue, the harvest over. Radish will grow grainy and zinnia will freeze. Someday you, too, will be gone...Let your root and flower have an earnest intention and a light touch...

What wish do you have, that you hold and can also let go of?

--Natalie Goldberg, Old Friend from Far Away

More often than I'd like to admit, I feel a bit overwhelmed. I feel like I go weeks and weeks without writing something of worth. I haven't really read a full book in months. There are boxes to pack and this blog to maintain and a newsletter to send out and sometimes I find myself wishing I went to church? I don't know what church I want to go to or what I'm looking for there, but when I feel a little bit lost I often feel jealous of devout Catholics and Baptists and Mormons.

I imagine that moving to North Carolina and living in a two bedroom apartment will somehow change something about me--that I'll become much more organized, with my desk sitting in a room that isn't the living room or our bedroom. I will work out every day instead of say "I should really work out today." And I will cook more meals and clean the kitchen immediately after and we will have friends over for dinner and random afternoon visits with cups of coffee on the couch and expensive candles lit on a pretty tray next to a vase of fresh flowers from the market.

Rob and I hope to stay in one place for a while after this, but then I wonder--what will life be like without that reset every August or so, when we pack up our things and do something else? I tend to burrow into my life and get comfortable in a way that's almost lazy; but I'm hoping that this keeps me grounded in a way I haven't known before. That I find some roots and dig them deep, and finally throw away the boxes.

This summer has been so busy so far! Rob has been traveling for work the past three or four weeks, so I've been on my own every Sunday through each Thursday. It's definitely reminiscent of our long-distance days, but traveling for work is a bit easier on our bank account, which certainly doesn't suck.

I spent half of last week in Charlotte and a few days after that in Roanoke, which was so nice--Rob and I spent some time in our soon-to-be new city and visited our soon-to-be new apartment together. And then we spent the weekend here in Minneapolis, so I'm home for another week of packing, blogging, and watching an embarrassing amount of Gossip Girl.

Here's a look at life lately, according to photos on my phone:

1. Charlotte is pretty! Love the view of the skyline from this sweet park in Uptown.
2. We hiked Crowder's Mountain with my in-laws last Sunday. Such a great workout and an even better view from the top.
3. I think Not Just Coffee might be my new almond milk latte spot in North Carolina.
4. Spent a few evenings on my parents' back deck overlooking Smith Mountain Lake.
5. Crepe Myrtles are so gorgeous and always remind me of home.
6. I'm seriously lusting over that painting in the back. Does anyone have $5,000 lying around to buy it for me?
7. Celebrated one year of self-employment with a glass of prosecco and this bizarre photo of me clinking glasses with my brother-in-law from across the table.
8. A weekend walk around Lake Harriet.
9. How cute is Rob? I hate having him away all week, but our weekends together sure are fun.

What have you been up to lately? I want to see!

Life Lately According to Instagram is a once(ish)-monthly feature in which I showcase my favorite Instagram shots. You can follow along with me in real time if you'd like--I'm @mflynnpete.

I drove from Charlotte to Roanoke and back last week, and the way the late summer haze weighed on the mountains in the distance made me yearn for fall the way almost-August always does.

If I'm being totally honest, once the fourth of July passes by, I'm pretty much ready for autumn. I start thinking about hot cups of coffee and knitted hats and jeans. There's something so magical about the change in seasons that I start to imagine it well before any of it actually happens.

One chilly morning on the lake. One cool haze hanging in the distance. I think about autumns past, and living on the east coast once again for autumns to come. Will things be the same? Will they feel different? Will I? It's just so hard to know. 

There are weeks before we move, and even longer before those first leaves start to change their color back east, so until either one, I will do my best to take in the last of this Minnesota summer. Sometimes it's hard to remember, but there is not much to gain by wishing away the present.