Show and Tell is wasted on elementary schoolers. Join several dozen bloggers weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0. Everyone is welcome to join, even if you have never posted before and just found out about Show and Tell for the first time today. So yank out a photo of the worst bridesmaid's dress you ever wore and tell us the story; show off the homemade soup you cooked last night; or tell us all about the scarf you made for your first knitting project. Details on how to participate are located at the bottom of this post.

Let's begin.

I am beginning early with one of my New Year's resolutions for this upcoming year: I am going to tell people how much they mean to me as often as possible. I am going to tell the people I love that I love them every chance I get and I am going to make sure that people hear me (or...I guess read...) describe why I think they are wonderful. And so I present Jodi.

Jodi lived here in D.C. for many years and I met her first through my cousin where she did volunteer work for my cousin's programs. Later on, we realized that our lives were crossed via many mutual friends which means, of course, that our relationship was fate, kismet, meant-to-be.

Jodi now lives far away, but every once in a while, the phone rings without warning and she informs me that she is currently a few streets away and would I like to grab coffee. The answer is always yes. Getting that phone call from her is like finding a ten dollar bill tucked into the bottom of your wallet. Being with her is comfortable and comforting--we can always jump right back into the conversation we left behind a year or so earlier.

If you are not lucky enough to have met Jodi, the first thing you should know is that she is very funny in a dry sort of way. She is intelligent and funny, which is a fantastic combination. She is also sassy and Southern and can drink beer with the boys and spill out her feelings AND still save the world (she has one of those "save the world" sorts of jobs). She is, in a word, amazing. I am constantly worried that she will stop calling me when she comes into town because she often needs to endure my long lists of why she should move back to D.C. (on the list today: I will make her a Smith Island cake, I will take her with me to Shepherdstown, and she will be introduced to every Tim I ever meet).

While we were sitting at coffee, I asked her if she could be my show and tell tonight and she started laughing. I wish my camera worked faster because I didn't really capture how deeply she laughs. I think her laugh is a sign of how deep her heart goes--that she can laugh with her entire body is a rare thing. This may not be the way she sees herself, but this is how I know her.



Isn't she lovely?

What are you showing today?

Click here or scroll down to the bottom of this post if this is your first time joining along (hint: link to the permalink for the post, not the main url for your blog and use your blog's name, not your name). The list is open from now until late Tuesday night and a new one is posted every week.