What a life we have. Honestly. We as a collective - not any certain we...I mean we the world. I'm about to talk in circles so please keep up.
Life has a way of spinning you around. Like you're about to swing at the pinata and you're so confident when you go up to it....and then you completely bomb it in front of all of your friends and family. That's where I'm up. I'm so confident in everything I do and then I totally miss the pinata and my turn is over. But eventually, you or someone else breaks the pinata and you still get to have what's inside.
Last night, my aunt on my mother's side and her husband found a photo album that belonged to my uncle's father. My uncle received it as a gift for his birthday, since his father passed away in 1963. My parents were born in 1962 and didn't meet until the 1980s. From this photo album fell a thank you note to my uncle's father...from my dad's parents. They were married in 1961. Our three families, without even knowing it, have intertwined their lives for as long as we all shall live. That is what I'm talking about with this spinning life situation.
If you're a reader of my blog, you'll know that I was dating a guy for a while that I loved, but couldn't return the feeling. He was a big part of my life, while I am just a small part of his. I grew to love his family at the same time, and fortunately for me they have chosen to still keep that affection for me long after he and I have gone our separate ways. Those are the kinds of people, the ones that choose you after all sorts of situations, that should be in your life. And sometimes, like I said, they choose you.
In April I went to visit my best friend in Miami. She and I used to spend our summers over there growing up, probably 3 years in a row starting when we were 14. There were soundtracks to our summers and stories and friendships and memories to last a lifetime. All of those things I have since put behind me; things that happened and were amazing but that I would never relive. Big crushes and secret talks about the boys we used to hang out with happened a lot on these nights. Everything was crazy and nothing was lasting. When I saw her in April I wanted to relive that freedom. I had a full 4 days to spend with her that I haven't had in who knows how long. With those 4 days I decided to get some of our old group together to go out and be adults for the first time since we actually were adults. I'm talking 6 or 7 years after we first met and probably since the last time we all had spoken. It was that weekend that I saw my boyfriend now for the first time since I told my best friend I liked him 6 years prior. I was a child back then. I liked him because he was cute and had a car - clearly my taste was not very particular. But then, seeing him again and knowing that my 15 year-old self was on to something...that was amazing. And here we are, dating, after I thought I would never see him again.
That's what I'm saying about life. It's one big gravitron. You really want to get up off the wall but if you do you will either puke or pass out. So you stay against the wall. But when the ride stops you look at your friends, laugh, and all decide unanimously to ride again.
It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?
