Lessons learned in the past 365 days..

There are not many who understand the weight of this article.

For a year, I’ve thought about the changes in my life . . . the ups and downs . . . and the laterals.

It's not rainbows and butterflies; although the constant nearby chocolate doesn’t hurt.

I’m very lucky to say that, after these past 365 days, I still love love.
I believe that love should be expressed every day, especially the days that it is hard to. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

I believe that every day is an opportunity to love hard and to love well . . . to grow with each other and mature separately . . . and today I believe stronger than I ever have that forgiveness and gratitude are the foundations of true love, not newness and variety.

“Even when love isn’t enough . . . somehow it is.” Was this quote written by a poet, a romantic comedy screenwriter, an author of young adult vampire novels? No. It was written by Steven King. Naturally, only a man who has the ability to strike fear in our hearts in the form of ghosts, supernatural beings, and clowns can put love so simply.

This past year, I’ve learned much.

That being frightened of being hurt again does not allow me to hurt others first.

That honesty is the most prized possession and something that cannot be imitated.

That a midnight chocolate soufflé on Valentine’s Day tastes way better than at any other time of the year.

That Shakespeare was way before his time, and I dare a man today to try to replicate his passion.

That words are powerful weapons. But that our actions cut an even deeper wound.

That friends step up to the plate much more than you ever thought possible.

That comfort can be found in chuck taylors, on a blog, in a stranger’s kind words, in a glass of spakling wine under white Christmas lights, in a surprise gift, in a friend teaching you that tofu is not ALL that bad, and in an old man telling you that “you are the funniest person I have ever met in my seventy-three years on this planet.”

That all it takes is a big security deposit to move into new apartment this year.

That romantic comedies never show you the year (or the day) AFTER the couple falls into each other’s arms. I want to see Katherine Heigl and Butler one year later? Okay, Paramount?

That friends will be brutally honest if just given the platform.

That the ultimate goal of each day should be to be the best version of ourselves possible, and that we should not waste time on the people who decide to be less than they are capable of being.

That midnight is a perfectly acceptable bedtime.

That 7 a.m. is an unacceptable time of the morning.

That a horse’s heart is larger than a human’s, in so many ways.

That true love is a choice and both people have to choose it.

That there are too many good people in this world to spend time on the ones that suck.

That the key to love is finding someone able to love your faults as much as you love theirs.

I could go on and on . . . and have over these past twelve months. You get the gist. You’ve gotten the gist. Long story not quite so short, we deserve the same amount we give. And not one iota less. Jot that down. Let that be a lesson to you.

Happy New Year!