How I Met Your Mother II
When I was 16 I thought that maybe I'd get lucky and meet someone in the last two years of high school. We'd go to college together, get married (and not have sex until then), get jobs, travel a little, get a house, have kids, and live happily ever after. Typical American Dream.
Life doesn't happen that way.
I met a girl in high school. She was a year older. She had already experienced sex, and then suddenly I had too. She went off to college, cheated on me, and then broke up with me. We got back together, I went to college, cheated on her, she cheated on me, she broke up with me. I left college.
So things didn't go how I had hoped.
I went to Europe, I started drinking, I met more girls. I broke some hearts, and I had the pieces of mine broken again. I fell into a deep depression. I questioned my life. I questioned what direction I was headed in.
I met another girl. I got my pilot's license. I didn't move to Baltimore. I didn't move to Austin. I played in the Adirondacks. We broke up. I graduated college.
I fell in love. I moved to Jacksonville. I became a professional pilot. I moved to Somerville. I worked 80 hours a week and commuted another 12 hours. I was still dirt poor. We grew apart. My heart broke. I nearly proposed, she said she couldn't be sure. I moved on.
I met someone else. She cooked, I got fat. I didn't move in. I got hired by my first airline. She left me, but I rediscovered the bicycle. Then her awesome dad died.
Whirlwind romance on two wheels, I moved to Maryland. First time living with a girlfriend. Easy life, good times, a couple big fights. We biked across Spain. She got into school in Toronto. We moved out. I moved back in with my parents in my late 20's. I got hired with a bigger airline for less pay. She said she didn't love me anymore.
I had great friends. I lived the single life, while living with my parents and surviving on airplane peanuts. I traveled a little. I met amazing people. The teacher who works with kids living with autism. The French speaking yoga instructor. The wonder drug manufacturer. The social worker. The district attorney. I broke hearts, I had mine broken. We set off fireworks and burned a hole in the back porch. I went to the Grand Canyon and Washington DC for dates. I had my first one night stand. I rekindled an old flame only to extinguish it quickly.
Then I meet her. She's married. Separated. Doesn't care that I live with my parents. Smart. Funny. Beautiful. Educated. Active. Her marriage is none of my business I say, but it still doesn't sit quite right. We take it slow. We run half marathons. I get a new job. She gets divorced. My cat, my best friend dies. She gets into a residency program in Vermont. We move in together. I'm gone too much for work, which is a three hour commute and eight days on the road. She gets a really great job, still in Vermont.
What happens next? I don't know.
I know that I can't plan it, it won't be perfect, and it won't be what I hoped. It will be better, and it will be worse. It hasn't been easy up to this point, and I don't expect it to be easy in the future, but I'm looking forward to the stories I'll be able to tell.
Life doesn't happen that way.
I met a girl in high school. She was a year older. She had already experienced sex, and then suddenly I had too. She went off to college, cheated on me, and then broke up with me. We got back together, I went to college, cheated on her, she cheated on me, she broke up with me. I left college.
So things didn't go how I had hoped.
I went to Europe, I started drinking, I met more girls. I broke some hearts, and I had the pieces of mine broken again. I fell into a deep depression. I questioned my life. I questioned what direction I was headed in.
I met another girl. I got my pilot's license. I didn't move to Baltimore. I didn't move to Austin. I played in the Adirondacks. We broke up. I graduated college.
I fell in love. I moved to Jacksonville. I became a professional pilot. I moved to Somerville. I worked 80 hours a week and commuted another 12 hours. I was still dirt poor. We grew apart. My heart broke. I nearly proposed, she said she couldn't be sure. I moved on.
I met someone else. She cooked, I got fat. I didn't move in. I got hired by my first airline. She left me, but I rediscovered the bicycle. Then her awesome dad died.
Whirlwind romance on two wheels, I moved to Maryland. First time living with a girlfriend. Easy life, good times, a couple big fights. We biked across Spain. She got into school in Toronto. We moved out. I moved back in with my parents in my late 20's. I got hired with a bigger airline for less pay. She said she didn't love me anymore.
I had great friends. I lived the single life, while living with my parents and surviving on airplane peanuts. I traveled a little. I met amazing people. The teacher who works with kids living with autism. The French speaking yoga instructor. The wonder drug manufacturer. The social worker. The district attorney. I broke hearts, I had mine broken. We set off fireworks and burned a hole in the back porch. I went to the Grand Canyon and Washington DC for dates. I had my first one night stand. I rekindled an old flame only to extinguish it quickly.
Then I meet her. She's married. Separated. Doesn't care that I live with my parents. Smart. Funny. Beautiful. Educated. Active. Her marriage is none of my business I say, but it still doesn't sit quite right. We take it slow. We run half marathons. I get a new job. She gets divorced. My cat, my best friend dies. She gets into a residency program in Vermont. We move in together. I'm gone too much for work, which is a three hour commute and eight days on the road. She gets a really great job, still in Vermont.
What happens next? I don't know.
I know that I can't plan it, it won't be perfect, and it won't be what I hoped. It will be better, and it will be worse. It hasn't been easy up to this point, and I don't expect it to be easy in the future, but I'm looking forward to the stories I'll be able to tell.