This past weekend was perhaps the greatest time I have had in my recent life.

You know you belong in a place when you can show up after seven months of absence and slide right back in as if you had only been gone a few hours. Such was the case for my first real journey back to Alabama since leaving at the end of October.

I have never been able to put into words just how much of a different world that place is for me. Immediately after getting into town, I find myself sitting with David in a recording and editing session for one of the tracks on his upcoming album, being served chicken fried rice from China Fun by Sarah, getting a sales pitch for Glock pistols by Johnny, giving Katherine a ride to the bank, trying on wedding clothes, eating platefuls of Big Bad Wolves BBQ, escorting bridesmaids, jumping off two story docks into a lake, wrestling a groom to the ground to write all over his body with magic marker, playing twelve-hand Texas Hold 'Em, and finishing a video with Jeremiah at 3:00am. And that was just the last half of Friday!

The next two days only continued the craziness. Thousands of wedding photos, a ceremony, filling cars with packing peanuts, trying on wedding dresses (!), sitting talking with friends on a lawn at dusk, revving leaf blowers, shoveling pizza, playing Mafia, wrestling dogs, eating Los Terascos, meeting the Alabama governor, almost winning ultimate ping-pong, watching stupid videos, climbing a 200 ft tall grain tower, smoking cigars, hurling bowling balls to their death, eating free frosties, and having some biscuits and gravy from City Cafe after sleeping in made the rest of the weekend a dreamlike event in the middle of a life that has had to endure a lot of routine lately.

Several asked if being back was weird. (This actually led to an intellectual discussion with Kevin regarding the perceived definitions of the word "weird" - but this is typical with Kevin). I would say no. There were many things that took place in Tuscaloosa that made life very difficult. But the reality was that these experiences came out of my association with one person. I have removed this person from my life. And what's more, this person was not present this weekend, which removed any potential for hard feelings experienced by seeing him continue to operate in the way that he does. All that was present for the four days I was in town were the amazing people and experiences that God has built in this place. For me, the two are separate. I never want the evil that I endured to cast a shadow on those things. So, praise God for reminding me of the incredible world that exists in Alabama and the time that he let me have to experience it.