Life, Love, & The Blues

last night I had a fabulous little revelation that I thought I would share with all of you because I am in the mood. there's just something about this time of year... :)

so you all know I adore Real Simple magazine. It is absolutely fabulous and if you are female and don't read it, you should! :) Well anyway, every month they pose a question to their readers on whatever topic and ask the readers to send responses. And the best response, which is usually a good idea or tip, gets a prize. This is always one of my favorite sections, because there are always unique answers that never would have crossed my own mind. Well, this month's question was: What song makes your heart melt (and why)? Yes, uncharacteristically cheesy for the magazine (thank god for realists like me), but fitting with Valentine's Day coming up and all. So, when I read a lot of answers, I had my usual 'oh gag me' response that I do any time I'm single and it's Valentine's Day, but there was one answer that I LOVED:

Jennifer Abell from Atlanta, Georgia said that her song is "At Last" by Etta James. ok, cliché enough, but still a fantastic song. But I absolutely loved what she wrote: "When I first heard [the song], I thought if I could find someone who made me feel that way, I'd spend the rest of my life with him."

Well, she met a man who made her feel that way, or as she puts it later, "I had found my dream." She also walked down the aisle to it at her wedding. Now, I know all this dreaminess is very out of character for me, but I can be a romantic, and that side definitely came out when I read this. Because just think about it-- all of you single girls out there know how hard it is to find a good guy that you really work with. Believe me, after some of the guys I've met and dated recently, I can certainly attest to that. But it gets hard after awhile, and you wonder if you're expecting too much or hoping for something so perfect it doesn't really exist.

I've been single now 9 months-ish, and I'm already wondering if what I want really is even in existence anywhere, much less in Virginia Beach! But at the same time, should I settle on some of the less important things? or should I keep looking, even if it's for something potentially not findable? yeah, all this when I know I'm still young and really have no desire right now to be settled down anyway... who knows. But in the past 24 hours alone, I got a wedding invite, a baby shower invite, and news that one of my good friends is expecting. and these people are all my age. makes you think!

But, despite all the unknowns that love inherently is, there is Etta James. And thinking about this song makes me realize that love is not worth settling for. I want to live "At Last". I want to feel "At Last". I think I deserve it. Doesn't everyone? And so, I say thank you to Jennifer Abell, whoever you are, for putting life back into perspective. I just have a feeling that when it's right, this song will already be in my head. no need to worry about it. Because, after all, if you let everything on earth that's stressful get to you, you'll never be right. believe me I know. so here's to patience, here's to silence, and here's to sitting back and letting things be rather than trying to make them happen. And most importantly of all, here's to the love and the passion of blues, because there will be no greater accompaniment when it all comes together in the end.


by the way, if you have a better response to the question of the month, post it! :)