New Year’s
Eve, 1968. Our second date. Found out, among other things, Carolyn was a good
sport. Playing charades (which she hates), her song title: Don’t Let the Screen Door Hit Ya Where the
Cat Bit Ya. This would have been awful even for someone who liked the game!
We are
all changed, to a greater or lesser degree, by our relationships, as well as
events, random or not, depending on how you view the universe. (See Ray Bradbury’s A
Sound of Thunder) In my own case, I think that’s especially
true (and yes, I know we ALL think we’re more unique than we really are),
because, at a really immature 20, I was wandering cluelessly through my life, with no idea as to what I was or where I was going. Becoming my authentic self wasn’t even something I had even thought
about, wasn’t even in my field of vision. I can’t say who I was trying
to be, mostly because I didn’t really know who I was.
Lucky
for me, I found a partner who only knew how to be authentic and encouraged,
prodded, and supported my halting journey toward a true self. I must also credit my career as a teacher for helping me forge my path, because kids, not just Holden Caulfield, can always spot the fakes and phonies, but none of it would have been possible without that safety net of unconditional love every day I came home.
I look
forward to continuing that journey, and am thankful for having had someone to hold
my hand as I’ve stumbled along these past 46 years. As I’ve told so many
students in the past, life is a marathon, not a sprint, and as I start to make out
the involuntary finish line in (what I hope is) the distant future, the goal is to keep on going, and work hard to help others as I can, or at least not run or stumble over anyone along the way.
May 2015
be a year of growth and joy for all of us.
