Music: Daughter- "Youth" (new music find, really diggin' her melancholy voice)
I'm pretty good at remembering birthdays, as well as strange dates too, like when someone's pet dies. So it's no surprise that today, on 11/11, I woke up with this piercing thought- "Today would have been our three year wedding anniversary."
My unworn wedding veil, still in its protected plastic covering sits next my wetsuits in my closet, and sometimes I'll accidentally push it aside when reaching for the vacuum stored in that same space. In a certain sense, it feels just like yesterday when my mornings were greeted by two kitties, happy and fed, who I would follow down the stairs. The aroma of cardamom from the simmering chai on the stove would fill the house and I would smile when my eyes paused upon two ceramic bowls on the counter- one was full of his cereal, and the other was of my oatmeal. Thoughtful, always.
Yet, a part of me feels like that time in my life was ages ago. In three years, I've witnessed friends marry and get divorced (some of them experienced both, sadly). In three years, I've seen bellies grow and babies born and jobs lost and friends move away. For me, this time changed the way I viewed setting boundaries, creating sacred space, and the value of transparency. It changed how I approached navigating big goals without a plus one, causing me to rely on friends and family for support, but more importantly, knowing that I had to show up for myself and be my own biggest fan. It changed the way I viewed my peers and my reactions when some unexpected gossip surfaced- I was less judgmental and more compassionate. It changed the way I loved. It changed everything.
On my birthday, my mom took out my baby book. We laughed as we read her scribbly cursive handwriting recounting how she walked up and down the hospital hallway so she wouldn't have to be induced. There was a list of all the visitors who came and their gifts. And there, underneath my measurements of height and weight, was the exact time that I was born- 11:11am.
Eleven eleven. The universe had greater plans, a grander way to signify this date cemented in my heart. Now, instead of feeling a sting every time this day lands on the calendar, now it'll be a positive and symbolic reminder of my life- being re-birthed, giving rise to the new, with an innocent and open heart, arms stretched out wide to the heavens.
Something inside of me tells me this wasn't a coincidence.
No comments:
Post a Comment