Imagine:

I take my girlfriend Terry on a month long road trip across Florida and up the eastern seaboard. The sights are spectacular, the beaches are awesome, hotel stays are very nice. She has new experiences, makes new friendships; a lifetime of warm, beautiful memories are coming out of this vacation.

But there is one tiny setback: In the first week of our trip I hold a brass lighthouse sculpture for her to look at before accidentally dropping it on one of her toes, shattering it. She screams, of course, but I take her and the mangled, bleeding mess that's her toe to a nearby hospital. They are very competent with their surgery and repair, everything is fine now, it's only one small toe after all, so we should be all set to enjoy the rest of our trip, right?

Knowing her, she's going to bitch and moan about the pain. BUT-  She will also joke about it as she enjoys the rest of the trip. I do everything I can to make her comfortable, we both have a wonderful time. The beautiful experience is what we will always remember; the broken toe is incidental, not the main focus.

In our 3+ year relationship, she has helped me to grow, learn, discover and learn about myself. Terry has transformed my life in positive, wonderful ways. But she has hurt me as well, as unintentionally as dropping a heavy object on my toe. How stupid, selfish and myopic I would be if I walked out of her life because of mistakes that she is very sorry for! And, yes I've hurt her as well. But we're still together, loving, learning and growing.

Life should be our focus, not the pain that comes with  it.

Tue, 06Jun2012