Love

They declare, “Better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.” I used to doubt the veracity of this statement as well as the existence of the “they” that authored this oft-repeated quote. But of one thing I was certain: this mysterious “they” had obviously never loved and lost. Someone who had would never be able to make such a farcical statement!

Until now. Until I loved and lost. Until I was loved and lost.

After years on the dating scene, I have come to regard it with the same affection as I have for that root canal I had done years ago; I can only describe it as never-ending and excruciatingly painful.

And then, “he” fell straight out of the sky. For the first time in too long, I tasted real, sweet hope. I experienced that which I had given up as ever being possible:  To have someone out there who you can share anything with and know that they’ll still accept you and respect you. Somebody who has your back and you can turn to when the going gets rough. Someone who just wants you to be happy, no matter the price.

 I was given this gift for a beautiful few months…

I’m going to pull another expression out of the box: “All good things must come to an end.”  That does not hold a lot of truth. This good thing that I had, however, did come to an end.

And while inside I may be crying and my chest feels like there’s an elephant sitting on it, I can finally appreciate the legitimacy behind the saying that it’s better to have loved and lost. As a result, despite the very real pain of loving and losing, I’m also feeling thankful.  Thankful… because I was given a glimpse of something magical and amazing, and my heart, though it hurts so much now, has never felt this whole.