“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
– Søren Kierkegaard
One year ago, I messaged her. I was new to Instagram, and from my first impressions, it wasn’t the same type of social interaction that some of the other platforms provided. Lots of artistically presented photography, some with specific descriptions and hashtags, others just presented as is. Something about her though just caught my attention to the point where I wanted to try and communicate.
*POOF*
I know this sounds cliche and a dull summary, given what’s happened, but I really cannot believe it’s only been a year. We’ve both grown so much, alongside one another, the twists and turns to our journey together seems impossible to navigate within the confines of a single year. I have heard the saying about how painful it is to meet someone you love at the wrong time in your life. I have now lived the part where you meet someone you love at the absolute right time in your life. Both of us went through some tremendous disappointments and upheavals prior to meeting one another, yet I feel that the time we spent immediately after these disappointments, working on ourselves, oblivious to each other’s existence, that made it possible for that “right time” to come to fruition. Had we met immediately after these events, there is no doubt that we’d have missed out on a lot. I was not ready to have someone like her care about me, I would have not known how to cherish it and reciprocate.
We have had our bumps. Human beings will always have a few rough paths to tread while coexisting, probably more so when that path leads towards a relationship. In terms of someone having the patience and grace to be there for someone getting sober, I could not have envisioned being with anyone more supportive. She did not give up on me.
Yesterday I was driving up to Mossy Head and got to take in one of the picturesque sunsets this region gets to enjoy. The clouds went from dark to light blue and into dying pastels. Just when I thought I had seen its entirety, the road curved and the landscape to opened up to reveal where the sun itself was, setting behind some clouds, creating the image of an inferno sinking into the horizon. You could watch this every single evening, anywhere in the world, and be treated to a different performance each time. No two sunsets are the same, from the very first one at the beginning of time on this planet, to its last, whenever that time may come. I appreciate that. Every day is unique and an opportunity. I appreciate the journey thus far, even the hard times. If that is what it took to arrive here then it was the path that I was meant to tread.
