While mindlessly inter-webbing a cute co-worker of mine, I decided to Google myself, just to see who else is out there like me...or not like me but with my name. Under images I found a picture of myself and was horrified. I clicked on it to see where it liked and found it was part of my friends blog who referenced mine. It was liked to my actual previous post "100 Reasons Not To Be In a Relationship." I re-read my previously scorned reasons and laughed. The cycle, the pure cyclical nature of this things we call life. I was bummed out, jaded and needed to feel it was okay to be single. Then low-and-behold, I met the next love of my life (referenced in the previous post entitled "A Contradictory New Year."
In recap, I didn't want a relationship. In fact, I did everything I could think of to stop it. However, he fell into my life and made me do it. I fell in love and I told him. We had a great year, I admit. Full of summer pool parties and winter drives where we thought we might die. We frequented blockbuster, even making friends with the clerk. We had our favorite restaurants like the Chinese place by his house "Red Ruby," Texas Roadhouse, and Pizza Hut. I have yet to go back to any of these. I met his daughter and fell in love with her as well. That year, something in me changed. I no longer wanted to run to another country and find what it was that I was looking for--I had found it. Right here, in the suburbs of Detroit. The man I was going to build my life with. The man with whom I was going to work extra hard to make enough money to support us and his daughter. I even pretended to care about sports for him. And, for once in my life, I not only was able to sleep alongside someone, but wanted to. I longed to have his arms around me every night and to feel his breath on my neck. It was love, a grown-up love I had never felt before. We had built something, something out of nothing in this dreary, quiet town. And I couldn't wait to explore it. He held my hand and I let him and he would let me kiss his forehead whenever I wanted. I bonded with his roommate and his friends and we barbequed in his driveway. I felt comfortable with his sisters and brother and actually wanted to visit his parents. I wanted to be a part of their life, too. I wanted to prove everybody wrong and show them that I was capable of loving someone, of being apart of something bigger than myself. And we made it work, and it was lovely and he smelt like home.
In March Mike grew distant and I didn't know why. He stopped sending his normal "Good Morning love" texts and hardly spoke to me. It became like pulling teeth to see him. At the end, I was only seeing him once a week, where I usually would stay at his place for days. We were moving backward and I couldn't understand why. So I did what every normal girl would do (which I hated) I clung with everything I had to what I felt like I was losing. However, it felt as though I was grasping at nothing but air. He hardly looked at me and we fought all the time. I remember then looking back at the beginning thinking how we had never fought, ever. We were too reasonable for that. However, in the subsequent months our relationship was reduced to him asking to give him space, him ignoring me completely and me finally blowing up, drunk, crying and yelling, perched in the bed of his truck so he wouldn't leave. Not my finest moment, but I knew what I wanted and I was keeping it. However, it got to the point where I was miserable every day. I woke up with my heart heavy and the nauseous feeling that someone was dying. Either me or him, it felt like. What was worse was that all I could think about was the fact that I never wanted this, he made me do it. He made me love him so that he could leave me and I would once again feel the crushing weight of the world on my heart and soul. The day I had enough I went over to his house to break up with him. He was crying and I was numb but then I started crying. He held me and asked me to stay, to try. It was a wonderful night, one I probably will never forget. I left him while he slept but was hopeful for tomorrow. The next day I didn't hear from him all day. That night he sent me a lengthy text message explaining he needed to figure out something and couldn't do it with me there. He needed space and asked for me to wait for him. I knew I couldn't but tried anyway.
The next day I felt... relieved. The war was over. I had lost, but I was still breathing this time. It in no way compared to the devastation I had felt with the last one.
I picked my head up, threw on make up and went to work. I walked past my boss's office and as he knew what was happening in my relationship I couldn't look at him, for I felt the painful fire of tears strewing in my eyes.
My boss, Ryan, called me to his office later saying "We're going to have a real problem if you do that, walk by without saying hi." He said this with a side-smirk that I would later find endearing. However, once he saw my face and blood-shot eyes his smirk dropped and looked at me with curiosity and sadness. I waved my hand away and ran into the stockroom. I cried for 15 minutes and thought "this will never happen again." I have not cried since and it's been three months. I hardly even let myself think about it... except when I go to write it down.
About two weeks ago now I text one of our mutual friends and asked him if he wouldn't mind getting my Nintendo from Mike's house, the only thing I really wanted back. That night Mike text me and there was no fighting but a civil, heartfelt exchange of what if's and I'm sorry's. He asked me the next day if I could try to work it out, he was better now and ready. Whether this was sincere or not, I will never know, but I said I didn't know how to answer that when really, I just couldn't tell him no. I guess a little part of me will always love him, and a little part of me would like to try again. I miss him. I try not to think about it, but I catch myself seeing things that remind me of him. However, it could never work, I know that now. It is not the life I wanted, and I don't think that I could be happy in a small house living right where I grew up. I need adventure and spontaneity and wonder and curiosity and excitement. I'm twenty-four and knowing where my life is headed sounds like death to me.
Anyway, looking at that list today I was reminded, yes, of all the reasons that relationships suck, but more-so and more importantly I was reminded who I was and I want to be her again. Fearless, and not running away from things, but running to them.
While watching Doctor Who the other night the Doctor said this, and I really took to it:
I’m not running away. But this is one corner… of one country, in one continent, on one planet that’s a corner of a galaxy that’s a corner of a universe that is forever growing and shrinking and creating and destroying, and never remaining the same for a single millisecond. And there is so much, so much to see, Amy. Because it goes so fast. I’m not running away from things, I am running to them. Before they flare and fade forever.The Doctor, “The Power of Three”
And it’s all right. Our lives won’t run the same. They can’t. One day, soon, maybe…you’ll stop. I’ve known for a while. Because you were the first. The first face this face saw. And you were sealed onto my heart. Amelia Pond, I’m running to you and Rory before you fade from me.
And I can't wait to explore.
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