Tuesday, June 23, 2015

California has given me many things but fireflies are not one of them

If mom walks into the room, I don’t know how I’m gonna explain this. But being outdoors is just too much of a risk right now with the clouds of mosquitos that hover right outside the door. Instead I’m positioned on the floor in front of the sliding door, all the lights off, and because that wasn’t enough, the curtains are drawn around me too. My forehead presses against the cool glass, leaving a little smear when I pull away to readjust.
I catch myself scanning the backyard the same way I’ve been trained to scan the pool- top to bottom, left to right, ten seconds for each scan. Yup, I’ve definitely been spending too much time at work.
I sigh into the glass, fogging it up briefly, my mind playing back the drive home with Dad tonight.

It’s not uncommon for grocery runs with Dad to turn into ice cream trips and he hadn’t disappointed tonight. I was already in a good mood, cruising down finally familiar streets, switching through songs on my iPod and considering rolling the windows down.
“Jess.” I glanced up at Dad and his eyes were bright, something increasingly uncommon with him lately. “I just saw a firefly.”
“What?!” I swear I nearly slammed on the brakes—I’d been waiting for this all summer. In my firefly craze, I’d scoured google for information and facts about this phenomenon I’d been denied my entire life so far. I knew what kind of habitat fireflies liked (long grass, near water) and how long they lived (two months). I knew the science behind the light (luciferin in the abdomen reacting with the air). I knew the main purpose of the light was for males to signal desire for mates, and that willing females answered with flashes of their own.
 Now that the moment had arrived, all I wanted to do was pull over and just… observe, just watch.
My eyes darted back towards the road and I caught a burst of light, not too long and not very bright. But then there was another. And another. I sucked in a breath, not quite a gasp, and mostly just an expression of awe. That was what I’d been missing out on?? I was probably veering all over the road, entra  nced by the brief blazes as I was.
And it didn’t wear off. The rest of the drive home as peppered with “There!” and “Look!” from Dad and me both. I felt like a little six year old, but man.
It’s these kinds of moments, filled with novelty and wonder and joy, that make me grateful I didn’t end my life senior year or one hundred times since.

I’m jerked back to the cool glass and darkening night in front of me by sniffing right outside the curtain. Something soft pokes at my arm. I lift up the curtain and sure enough, here comes Callie, crawling under it and getting in my face. I laugh and nudge her off but not away.
She looks out the door and perks her ears forward intently. I reach up a hand and scratch her neck.
PLUNK. I’m shoved rudely to the side by her trying to sit on top of me. Laughing to myself again, I scoot over and draw the curtain around us both.
She sits with me for the entire time I’m on firefly watch. It must be at least twenty minutes. Every now and then she’ll turn towards me and try to lick my face. But mostly she just sits with me and watches.
We catch more than a couple little flickers, each one igniting the dark for an instant.
I find myself wondering if this is what marriage is like. Not the licking the face part. But the company part. Just sitting by each other. Not having to explain. Looking for the little flashes of beauty and light.
         I hope so.
         Please be luminous and know I love you.


Thursday, June 11, 2015

Hopefully overcoming all this crap will just make "us" even more worth it

Remember that disagreement with Daniel I briefly mentioned? The one about having Ian on facebook?
It’s gotten increasingly ridiculous. He and I argued and didn’t talk for a couple days, and then we made up and both apologized and it should be all good now, right?
Wrong.
I’m trying to figure out why I’m so upset with him still. He’s human and we all make mistakes, so why can’t I let this one go?
I’ve figured that I’m still a little gun-shy from Ian. I let go of a lot of his mistakes and that led to me justifying and enduring his abuse and manipulation. I’m terrified to let go of even one mistake of Daniel’s, afraid that if I do I’ll be stuck in the cycle of abuse again still.
So because of my super fun and complex trust issues, I’m pulling/pushing away from someone I care about.
Obviously you’re going to make mistakes. We both are. So I really need to learn to deal with this. I’m trying.
It's scary to realize.. We have a lot of work cut out for us.

Please be patient with me and know that I love you.

Friday, June 5, 2015

When this eventually comes up, I will probably just refer you to this post

There is something I need to get out in the open before I have this argument with you, because I just can’t—I literally cannot have this argument again with anyone else.
I’m still friends with Ian on Facebook.
*Gasp!*
What?? How could I? Don’t I know how stupid this is?
Yes, I do. Thank you. Almost every single person I love, most recently Daniel (and I’m still pretty furious at him), has repeatedly told me how completely idiotic it is to have my abuser on Facebook.
I DON’T NEED ANY MORE CRITICISM OK
Here’s the deal.
I have defriended Ian on Facebook about a million times. The cycle will go like this.

Oh I’m so sad over our break up.
Looking at his profile isn’t healthy for me. I need to defriend him.
It feels so good to be completely cut off from him!
But.
But wait.
I wonder how he’s doing?
Is he hurting as much as I am?
Does he miss me?
Did he coach tennis this year? Did his sister finally get married?
Oh my gosh. I have to know, I have to find a way to ask him!
I can’t friend him on Facebook, not after all the work I went through to defriend him.
I know! I have a great idea.
I’ll text him.
Yeah! Just one little text to know how he’s doing.
That’s all.

The second I’m talking to him again, he starts manipulating and then I REALLY go all stupid and illogical. I was in that cycle for so long.. I know myself, and I know that if I defriend him, the cycle will begin anew. And I can’t afford that. I can’t afford to be back under his spell.
So here’s what I’ve done. Ian is categorized under “acquaintances” which means, under my privacy settings, he can’t see anything I post. Nothing. I don’t message him or like his posts.
But when I really miss him or am just thinking about him a lot, I go browse his profile. Just for a little bit. It eases the aching for him in a safe way. It’s a way to keep the real him out of my life. It’s maybe not the healthiest, but it’s much healthier than being in direct contact with him.
                Know what’s not healthy though?? Having to defend my life decisions to the people closest to me. This is not a rash choice. I have put a lot of thought into it and decided it’s what’s best for me right now. I know it doesn’t seem smart and I appreciate whatever concern is behind the increasingly annoying comments.
                But part of loving me is trusting my judgement, even on this, especially on this. Sorry. 
                I guess the hope is that when you come into my life, when I know you're here.. I won't have to keep Ian on facebook anymore, I won't want to. So, please don't argue with me about this, but know that it's not permanent. It's a transition to a better place, an Ian-free (as much as I can be) existence.. a transition to you. 
                Please be supportive, and know that I love you.