Love, Loss, and the Olympics.

Forgive the following seriousness. I am writing this at the end of a pretty long day. Being the last weekend of the summer, I wanted to sum up my last three months (see headline). This has been a tumultuous summer, but as they say "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Right?

LOVE. Being flung back into the single world...I was faced with the challenge to reevaluate the "L" word. I thought I'd found it but it wasn't the forever kind. And my other half veered left as I veered right at the fork in the road. So where am I now? On the road alone, talking to myself, facing the fact that there may be plenty of fish in the sea...but I happen to be walking towards the desert! Ah well, what better way to get to know yourself, however frightening that may be, through the eyes of some new friends. I am quite proud of myself for remaining open to love even though it has bitten me in the butt a few times. I can't imagine turning back towards the fork, or freezing from fear of what's around the bend, so on I tread.

LOSS. And maybe this is more about LOVE. But this year, my parents lost 2 of their very close friends to cancer. They were also my life-long heroes and mentors and in passing, left a wake of deep impressions. The most meaningful lesson being that of selfless love--between friends, spouses, and family. These were people with enormous hearts being cared for by people with equally enormous hearts. I had the chance to appreciate my dearest friends (who I hope will still be around when I check out) and to witness the deep caring that my parents felt for their own friends. So its not really a loss then...

OLYMPICS. Although I didn't get to sit glued to the tube as much as I would have liked, I did get a tiny taste of the mania that captured the hearts of the entire world this summer. In a way, the ups and downs of my summer were mimicked by the triumphs and defeats of these incredible athletes (okay slight exaggeration). But who can resist imagining yourself in their place--training for a life time, then having one moment to reach perfection?  I am so grateful for the chance to stumble and slip my way towards "the gold" whatever that might be. And I have to admire those who get up and finish the race after they've tripped or twisted an ankle. Maybe love should be an Olympic sport :)

Comments

[edward mycue]

keep plugging away, ann.
you'll come out stronger and content.
ed