It started out like a regular date night. Both of us had survived tough weeks at work, and we relished the chance to get away from it all. After paying for our meal, we weren't yet ready to head in, so we decided to go for a walk by the river.
It was warm, but the breeze off the water soothed us. My partner and I held hands. We chitchatted. I don't remember what we talked about, but then he turned to me and told me something I will never forget.
My first reaction after hearing these words was shock. I never in my life imagined I would hear something like that directed at me, especially from someone I cared about so deeply. Did he really just say that? I wondered. Even though I had heard him clearly, my only response was, "What?"
He repeated. Again, every word entered my ear and soured all happy memories I had of my partner. Every warm feeling that I felt towards him was now ice cold, and it was just as shocking to hear the second time:
I'll be honest, I had lived in a bubble before that night. I'd had the luxury of never having to hear someone say, "A roller skating man holding an abnormally tall wedding cake is approaching you at a high rate of speed, stumbling wildly after having inadvertently rolled over a discarded banana peel." Suddenly, I no longer lived in a world where a roller skating man holding an abnormally tall wedding cake had never approached me at a high rate of speed, stumbling wildly after inadvertently rolling over a discarded banana peel. And that scared me.
After further reflection, however, I have realized it's good that my partner said this. If he hadn't told me that a roller skating man holding an abnormally tall wedding cake was approaching me at a high rate of speed, stumbling wildly after having inadvertently rolled over a discarded banana peel, I never would have known that a massive pastry was rapidly coming towards me as it was carried by a man on wheels who thrashed about after slipping on a yellow fruit skin. Because of our difficult conversation, I was able to step out of the way of the gliding individual with a strangely enormous dessert swiftly advancing towards me and teetering dangerously after having unintentionally slipped on a piece of food waste, and for that I am grateful.
It wasn't easy to hear, but honesty is important in a relationship. I know that the topic of roller skating men holding abnormally tall wedding cakes and approaching me at high rates of speed, stumbling wildly after inadvertently rolling over discarded banana peels won't come up that often, but if it does, I know we will approach the conversation with love.
In a way, I was that roller skating man. I was stumbling wildly after inadvertently rolling over the discarded banana peel that was my partner saying "A roller skating man is approaching you at a high rate of speed, stumbling wildly after having inadvertently rolled over a discarded banana peel," and I was struggling to continue carrying on a relationship that in that moment felt as unsteady as an abnormally tall wedding cake.
But my partner and I are still "roller skating" along, just as I am sure the man who inadvertently rolled over the banana peel is somewhere approaching someone else at a high rate of speed while carrying an abnormally tall wedding cake.
And that's what matters.
It was warm, but the breeze off the water soothed us. My partner and I held hands. We chitchatted. I don't remember what we talked about, but then he turned to me and told me something I will never forget.
My first reaction after hearing these words was shock. I never in my life imagined I would hear something like that directed at me, especially from someone I cared about so deeply. Did he really just say that? I wondered. Even though I had heard him clearly, my only response was, "What?"
He repeated. Again, every word entered my ear and soured all happy memories I had of my partner. Every warm feeling that I felt towards him was now ice cold, and it was just as shocking to hear the second time:
A roller skating man holding an abnormally tall wedding cake is approaching you at a high rate of speed, stumbling wildly after having inadvertently rolled over a discarded banana peel.My partner's admission gutted me, the confusion entering my mind as fast as the stumbling, abnormally-tall-wedding-cake-holding roller-skater approached me after he inadvertently rolled over a discarded banana peel. It was completely baffling to me that the person I trusted the most in the world would tell me that a roller skating man holding an abnormally tall wedding cake was approaching me at a high rate of speed, stumbling wildly after having inadvertently rolled over a discarded banana peel. That sentence entered my life in a matter of seconds, but it felt like the impact would last forever.
I'll be honest, I had lived in a bubble before that night. I'd had the luxury of never having to hear someone say, "A roller skating man holding an abnormally tall wedding cake is approaching you at a high rate of speed, stumbling wildly after having inadvertently rolled over a discarded banana peel." Suddenly, I no longer lived in a world where a roller skating man holding an abnormally tall wedding cake had never approached me at a high rate of speed, stumbling wildly after inadvertently rolling over a discarded banana peel. And that scared me.
After further reflection, however, I have realized it's good that my partner said this. If he hadn't told me that a roller skating man holding an abnormally tall wedding cake was approaching me at a high rate of speed, stumbling wildly after having inadvertently rolled over a discarded banana peel, I never would have known that a massive pastry was rapidly coming towards me as it was carried by a man on wheels who thrashed about after slipping on a yellow fruit skin. Because of our difficult conversation, I was able to step out of the way of the gliding individual with a strangely enormous dessert swiftly advancing towards me and teetering dangerously after having unintentionally slipped on a piece of food waste, and for that I am grateful.
It wasn't easy to hear, but honesty is important in a relationship. I know that the topic of roller skating men holding abnormally tall wedding cakes and approaching me at high rates of speed, stumbling wildly after inadvertently rolling over discarded banana peels won't come up that often, but if it does, I know we will approach the conversation with love.
In a way, I was that roller skating man. I was stumbling wildly after inadvertently rolling over the discarded banana peel that was my partner saying "A roller skating man is approaching you at a high rate of speed, stumbling wildly after having inadvertently rolled over a discarded banana peel," and I was struggling to continue carrying on a relationship that in that moment felt as unsteady as an abnormally tall wedding cake.
But my partner and I are still "roller skating" along, just as I am sure the man who inadvertently rolled over the banana peel is somewhere approaching someone else at a high rate of speed while carrying an abnormally tall wedding cake.
And that's what matters.
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