I’m about to turn 47. It’s been another year, and boy…have things changed. I’ve got a new job, a new girlfriend, and where last year I was reflective on the past, now I’m looking to the future. I’ve always been selective about the people I let close to me. It’s a rare occasion when I meet someone I can fully connect. I can honestly say that it is almost unprecedented that I let anyone in at all. If you had asked me 12 months ago if I thought I would be living with someone I would have laughed. Now I can’t imagine living without them. Please understand…that in my world…this is unprecedented.
Since the advent of Facebook, I get to spend a lot of time listening to people complain, praise, or otherwise comment on their relationships. I’m forever amused, amazed, and mystified by some of the comments. I find them fascinating. Some people love their significant others, and some outright hate them. Who needs reality TV? I can just read about real lives each morning with my glass of diet Coke. What makes it so interesting is the number of things I don’t really understand about relationships. I haven’t had but a few, and they really didn’t last very long.
So here’s what I find confusing. I have never been able to spend time with someone I don’t really like. Make no mistake…there are people out there I love dearly, but I can’t stand to spend more than 10 minutes with them. I certainly wouldn’t sleep with them. I just don’t understand why some people decide to live their lives with people they don’t really like. It just seems draconian to me. I wonder what self-loathing someone must engender to accept such punishment. Are you hiding some secret Dexter fantasy where you tie people to a table and play Sam the Butcher from the Brady Bunch? Unless you’re a mass murderer, I’m pretty sure you don’t have to be miserable.
Admittedly I haven’t had many lengthy relationships. Still, those I have had, were very fulfilling learning experiences. They’ve shaped who I am today, and have taught me how to treat, and be treated by, others. In fact, I can guarantee that each one of them is reading this right now (you all know who you are).
So please understand that for me to share a home with someone is beyond anything I have ever experienced. I’m surprised at how easy it has become. I might have felt stifled before by a continuous presence. Now I can’t imagine not seeing her when I open the door. I finally understand what it’s like to have someone you can completely trust. So with that, I bid you all another year of happiness and devotion. I hope you find someone that makes you has happy as the person I have in my life. For right now…I can’t imagine living any other way.
The future’s lookin pretty good! It’s a new life at 47.
Rex