Wednesday, August 12, 2009

That girl

I was cleaning up this afternoon, and getting out things to make dinner. I decided I needed some music, so I switched over to VH-1 Classic, because yes, I am old.

Anywho.

They were playing a 1997 concert with INXS. I thought it would be good background music. It was.

And then THE SONG started up. You know what song I mean...one that takes you RIGHT BACK to a moment in your life that is unforgettable. And you are back there, in every way but physically.

See the girl who loved this song also loved a boy. Was head over heels. And it was real. A real first love. And it was good. And this song was wrapped up so tightly in that love that it took me right back, instantly.

Do I still love that boy? No. Not with the heated, torrid feelings I had when I was 17. Does anyone really love like that ever again? But the memories were so profound and bittersweet. It was like going back in time, just for a second.

And it was so touching and beautiful.

And then I looked around and realized just how much that girl didn't know. How much better life is when it is messy and busy and overwhelming. How a house is a home when you love the people in it. How real love, lasting love, is not about passion as much as it is about friendship and kindness. How real life is your baby's smell and a home cooked meal, your husband's cologne and his hand reaching for you even in sleep. It is in a thousand mundane moments.

That girl was naive, but beautifully so. She loved with everything she could give. She loved that boy with her whole soul.

But what that girl knows now is that love is so much deeper, so much richer, and so much more comforting than she ever could have thought.

(pause music on sidebar)