Showing posts with label new beginnings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new beginnings. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

A Love Letter of Sorts

Dear Shower Curtain,

This may be the most difficult letter I’ve ever written. As I’m sure you’ve noticed there have been some changes around the homestead. There has been a lot more use of cleaning products, putting items away after they are used, and even a concerted effort to pick-up the unending supply of discarded arm hairs and nose hairs.

Can you believe we have been together for over a decade? Think about it, our relationship has lasted longer than presidential terms and an entire series of VH1’s I love the (insert decade of your choice). We’ve seen the conclusion of Dawson’s Creek, the entire series of Lost, and more baseball games than is worth counting. And through that time you have always been there for me. Hanging strong and proud. You never balked at when I disrobed, never flinched when I accidentally turned on the cold water first. Like a loyal and true friend you moved with me from home to home.

But our time has come to an end. Like Abbott and Costello, Bill and Ted, Tina and Ike, and Peanut Butter and Jelly; the curtain is descending. I’m sure you are going to be stunned into silence by this revelation, and that you may protest by hanging around lifelessly; all of these are to be expected. But this change is going to happen.

Not that it will mean much, but it’s not your fault. You’ve done nothing wrong. And, just between you and me, it isn’t of my choosing either. I know, I know, don’t cry. I can see the drips beading up on your liner right now. It’s, well…it’s complicated. See, the Redhead is moving in this weekend. I’m very excited about this change. I’m ecstatic. But she has suggested (read: demanded) that you go.

I pleaded for you. I begged. But she said, and I quote, “I hate it.” It’s not your fault. I swear. Only, please understand, mature adult relationships are complicated. Sometimes things become more than just stuff, but that transition isn’t always noticeable to everyone else. Sometimes a home means two people purchasing stuff as a symbol to the world, a manifesto so to speak, about what the relationship stands for. And I’m sure you did your best to make her feel comfortable; but when forced to chose, I have to let you go.

I’ll do my best to place you in a nice home. Maybe one with a big bathroom with two sinks and heated floor tiles. I’ll even try to come and visit as often as possible. But we both know we are going our separate ways.

So. Goodbye.

Spike

Friday, January 30, 2009

The Saddest Story

I have never known anything like the love and joy I was lucky enough to share with Lil. The two years we spent together were the very best of my life. I am forever indebted to her. Her strength, compassion, unending drive, and smile inspired me to be a better man. And I will be haunted by her eyes, grey like a ghost in a mist, forever.

Sadly, Lil and I had to let the other go. Not for a lack of love, desire, or any reason typically articulated by former lovers. We realized we just needed to let the other person be who they need to be, and we loved the other enough to let go. I know, those three lines utterly fail to describe the difficulty and struggle and tears we experienced, but they embody the heart of the reason we separated.

I dedicated my old blog to our running adventures and a chronicle of our preparation for the 2008 Chicago Marathon. Reading it today brings back wonderful but sometimes bittersweet memories; and I can’t help but feel the great weight of emptiness that arrives on the shoulders of knowing no future memories of Big and Lil will be created.

But life is what happens while you are busy making plans.

After taking several months off, all of November and December, I’m back to the pavement. The Bayshore Marathon awaits.