Once Upon A Time

A friend of mine just broke up with his girlfriend, and is really bummed about it. He talks about her all the time, everything he sees reminds him of her — it's really sad.

The other day, he was telling me a story about a vacation they had together, and a picnic he took her on. Just talking about it was upsetting to him.

As he was telling me the story, it triggered a great memory of Levi and I.

Levi and I met in March, and in July we went to Virginia to meet some of my family. On the Fourth of July, we went to the grocery store and bought cheese, crackers, grapes and wine.

We headed down to the beach, off of the James River — absolutely one of the most gorgeous places on the planet. We swam all day, listened to music, and lay on the beach drinking wine and eating cheese and crackers.

It got later and later, and before we knew it, it was pitch black. Suddenly the sky lit up with fireworks — the most amazing/beautiful fireworks display I have ever seen.

As I smiled to myself at the memory, I looked over at my friend — still telling his story — and noticed the anguish on his face.

I realized then that I've come a long way. A short time ago, I wouldn't have been able to think about Levi without having some intense emotion attached to it.

The truth is, for all the bad, there was a lot of great. For some reason, we all seem to focus on the negative. I'd like to remember all the good times too: the laughing, the love, the fun, and all the happiness that we brought each other, once upon a time.