Get Away - Gotten!
The not so weary traveler has returned from a (very) short respite trip "up north," as it's known to natives of our fair state. City weary senses were lulled by the shores of the Great Lake, gentle waves lapping the shore in perfect time with the rhythm of our own hearts. The weather gods smiled on us the day of our arrival, the April sun flexing it's muscles just a little bit, and causing us to regret the slightly heavy sweaters we'd worn in expectation of an early spring chill. We found a perfect restaurant for dinner, one brave enough to have opened it's summer patio so we could enjoy our perfectly prepared whitefish straight from the lake, along with the fresh breeze and the setting sun.
Alas, today was a different story. The view of sparkling turquoise water I had so enjoyed outside my bedroom window was completely obscured by a think blanket of fog. The warm sunshine on my face was replaced with the sting of misty rain, and heavy plastic drapes were drawn round the edges of our outdoor cafe. How quickly things had changed in this idyllic place! And how much like life it was, to go so easiliy from serene to stormy.
I had high expectations for this little trip, expectations of renewing love and excitement while celebrating a relationship that has certainly withstood the test of time. But time has weathered this pair of lovers, and the stormy excitement of the early years may be gone for good. I could get very sad about this, and if I thought about it long enough I might be tempted to go looking somwehere else for that ecstasy of new love. Wouldn't it be exciting to be with someone who didn't already know my life story, who didn't take for granted that I would make the coffee every morning, or know for certain that I would leave the last lukewarm swallow in the bottom of my cup?
But then I think how really comforting it is, to have someome know all those things about me, and still care enough to always unload the dishwaher for me because he knows how it aggravates my bad back. Our relationship seems more like the lake on that lovely day of our arrival - placid and calm, but still sparkling in the sunshine with the rhythm of eternity, and blessed with a deep undercurrent of knowledge and trust. Perhaps, for the long run, those are the highest expectations one can have of a relationship.
Alas, today was a different story. The view of sparkling turquoise water I had so enjoyed outside my bedroom window was completely obscured by a think blanket of fog. The warm sunshine on my face was replaced with the sting of misty rain, and heavy plastic drapes were drawn round the edges of our outdoor cafe. How quickly things had changed in this idyllic place! And how much like life it was, to go so easiliy from serene to stormy.
I had high expectations for this little trip, expectations of renewing love and excitement while celebrating a relationship that has certainly withstood the test of time. But time has weathered this pair of lovers, and the stormy excitement of the early years may be gone for good. I could get very sad about this, and if I thought about it long enough I might be tempted to go looking somwehere else for that ecstasy of new love. Wouldn't it be exciting to be with someone who didn't already know my life story, who didn't take for granted that I would make the coffee every morning, or know for certain that I would leave the last lukewarm swallow in the bottom of my cup?
But then I think how really comforting it is, to have someome know all those things about me, and still care enough to always unload the dishwaher for me because he knows how it aggravates my bad back. Our relationship seems more like the lake on that lovely day of our arrival - placid and calm, but still sparkling in the sunshine with the rhythm of eternity, and blessed with a deep undercurrent of knowledge and trust. Perhaps, for the long run, those are the highest expectations one can have of a relationship.
posted by Becca at Sunday, April 23, 2006
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