Open When… You Fall in Love
Beatrice,
There once was a boy in my English class when I was a sophomore in college. He was smart, but in the way that he didn't want anyone else to know. He was silently smart, and silently brave. My favorite part about him was that he could forget himself for someone else. I did not realize how much I liked him until it was the end of the semester and he asked me to go to the Holiday Festival.
And it is funny how people tell stories about falling in love. There are star-crossed lovers that are passionately in love but can never be. There are soul mates that are meant for each other and no one else; their paths are chosen for them, instead of making a choice. There is love at first sight when you look at someone once and you just know. But let me tell you something Beatrice, the boy from first semester English and I were nothing like those things.
We fell for each other slowly, one person pushing harder and backing off, and vise-versa. It was slow, like waves coming to a shore. We slowly traveled to the shore, steady and naturally. It was calm and beautiful, and then at the last moment, everything built up and crashed into something I could only call love. We weren't perfect; in fact, we fought more than other couples. But there was always one thing that we could agree on… We loved each other unconditionally.
That boy's name was Andrew, and he is your father. As time went on, we learned to agree on more things. And we learned to love two people as much as we loved each other. Those two peoples' names are Caleb and Beatrice.
So, Beatrice, if you are reading this, you have fallen in love. And you will know it when you feel it. It can sneak up on you until it is there. Beatrice, I hope you fight. I hope you fight with each other and for each other. But most importantly, when he said I love you for the first time, did you ask him if he was afraid of heights? I hope with my entire soul that he said yes because that means despite his fear, he fell for you.
Love, Mother
Author's Note
Hello.
I am horrible at updating! I am in my final semester of college (crazy!) and I am excited to say that I have a new job in a brand new BIG city for after I graduate! (I am totally have a Mean by T. Swift moment.) I am thinking a lot about changing how my original format for Finding the Strength was supposed to be and what it will end up being. Time will tell. Thank you to those who are still out there! You all are the best!
Be brave, everyone.