We were born before the wind, also younger than the sun

I was walking along and I saw her. Last time was a couple of years ago. I don't have many regrets, but she's a substantial one. Who knows if it would have worked, but she enchanted me unlike any other. She was about ten feet ahead of me. I ducked my head and walked the other way. I had it in my head that she wouldn't want to see me, but that was just the cover story. Really, I just wasn't ready to interact with her, to have the past stirred up. Last I heard, she was getting married. She had moved on, best I do the same.

I heard my name called. I looked up. It was her. She ran over to me with a wide grin. She looked genuinely happy to see me. I was happy to see her, too. We made a little small talk and then her face grew serious. "Things didn't work out. I'm not getting married." Relief, and not a little hope, blossomed within. "It wasn't the right relationship for me." As she said that, she offered a meaningful look my way. Were my knees growing weak? Why, yes - yes, they were.

She told me she'd been thinking of me a lot lately. "Maybe it's more than a coincidence we ran into each other", she said. She had tears in her eyes; I was surprised to discover I did, too. We proceeded to map out our future.

And then I awoke.

That was how my birthday began yesterday. I lay in bed, rubbing the dream out of my eyes. Not real. Felt real, but it wasn't. I sighed and got dressed. I hoped my day would improve. It did.

I went for a run, the second leg of which was challenging; the heat was growing more oppressive by the minute. I'm glad I went. I needed to counteract the dream with something positive. The rest of the day I played music and watched Curb Your Enthusiasm. And read, too. A relaxing day. What I wanted.

Later on, Spira and Janelle treated me to dinner at Mr. Crepes and then, along with Aviv, who showed up after we ate, we headed back to house and hung out on the porch a while. A fine day with some fine people.

My parent's had a little party for me at their house on the fourth. It was nice seeing the family. Little Colleen had made a card for me. "Thank you very much, Colleen. This is a very special gift. I'm going to enjoy this card as much as I can before I throw it in the trash."

"Nooooo!", she yelled. "You don't put in the trash."

"Oh, no?'

"No. You keep it, silly."

"Ok, Colleen. I'll keep it."

"Good."

"And when you leave the room, that's when I'll put it in the trash."

"No, you should bring it home with you."

"Oh, okay. I'll put in in the garbage at home."

"No, you should put it on the wall or on the fridge."

We went back and forth like this a bit longer before I promised I would never, ever throw the card away. And, of course I won't.
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In my last post, I spoke of a less than stellar outing with Mara on Saturday night. I was going to go into detail here, but I've decided not to. I don't want to disparage Mara; wouldn't be fair. We didn't fight, she wasn't cruel to me. At least not intentionally. Let's just say it wasn't a very fun night and I wonder how many more times I can spend time with her like that.

It's getting late. Watching the Netherlands/Uruguay game as I write this. The Netherlands are about to win, despite a late goal from Uruguay. Very much looking forward to the Spain/Germany game.

Tomorrow the work, the dentist, and more heat. I'll go for a run in the evening. Hope things will have cooled off enough by that point.