Floating on the Breeze: Part 8

In case you missed it…

FLOATING ON THE BREEZE: PART 1
FLOATING ON THE BREEZE: PART 2
FLOATING ON THE BREEZE: PART 3
FLOATING ON THE BREEZE: PART 4
FLOATING ON THE BREEZE: PART 5
FLOATING ON THE BREEZE: PART 6
FLOATING ON THE BREEZE: PART 7

I knew before I met Chad that he was going to play an important role in my life. I didn’t know what that meant or how the weekend would go..I just sensed it was an important day for me.

The time I spent with him was better than I imagined it would be. It exceeded any and all expectations that I could have possibly had.

I was smitten the moment I saw his face pop up on my Twitter food and that feeling was solidified the moment we embraced.

This was real.

It was with that knowledge that I went through the short time I spent with him. I knew that I had less than 24 hours to spend with him, but somehow, that short time felt much longer. My senses were on high alert that weekend just doing everything in my power to soak the experience up. I wanted to truly live in the moment of every second that was spent with him.

Time stood still with him.

It wasn’t until we left brunch, hand in hand, that I realized I would be leaving soon. It was like a force of wind hit me and all I wanted to do was run against it and somehow move the hands of time in our favor.

Somehow our silent wish was granted.

As we got home, I realized that I had a voicemail from an unknown number. It was a recording from Southwest Airlines to inform me that my flight back home had been cancelled. They had rescheduled my flight for the following afternoon.

I was shocked…and thrilled. Mostly thrilled. However, I quickly realized that my 2nd semester of Nursing School started in less than 24 hours and I couldn’t possible miss the first day.

I would’ve though. In a heartbeat.

Chad stepped in with a solution. He has a way of dealing with me that nobody else does. He senses my stress in a tenth of a second. We both wanted to say “ah, hell with it. Stay another day.” He pulled me over and we decided that we would attempt to do the responsible, smart, thing. Sometimes I really hate the smart thing.

We quickly found a replacement flight. My heart sank realizing that I was indeed leaving that night. However, this airline mishap left me with a few more hours with him.

We spent that time sharing possibly the best burger from Dino’s in Cleveland Park. I don’t remember details about what we discussed, but I can tell you that we were wrapped up in each other.

We were that couple. 

Yes, the one where they are constantly touching and you can’t look away. You can’t decide if it’s utterly annoying or if you think it’s sweet. I used to look at those couples and wish I could be apart of something like that.

With my legs draped over his, we just enjoyed the last few hours we had. Magically, none of these remaining few hours felt hurried. They were just beautifully perfect.

After dinner, we walked back home to the house and had some last minute fun.

Yes, he’s a man after my own heart. He was more than happy to indulge me in pure handstand fun. Power + grace, wouldn’t ya say? (PS: This photo made it onto USA Gymnastics web page. Big time).

After showing off in the front yard, it was time to make my way home. Thankfully, Chad took a wrong turn which allowed me a few more minutes with him. Every small second counts. When he was driving me to the airport, I tried to hold onto his hand tight. The tighter I held them the more it felt like he was being seared into my memory. I focused on his eyes and tried to etch his green-speckled brown eyes into my mind.

We kissed. We hugged. We said our sweet-nothings. And I was gone. The weekend ended just as quickly as it had begun. As I was walking away from him, tears bubbled up into my eyes. These weren’t sad tears. Honestly, I felt overjoyed. I was happy. I was excited. A variety of thoughts ran through my head as I made my way to my terminal.

Did that wonderful weekend really happen? I love that life surprised me with him. I’m so excited to see what this brings. I can’t wait to see him again. He’s absolutely wonderful.

The impact of saying goodbye didn’t hit me until I sat down and waited for my plane. It was then that those joyful tears changed their tone into tears of sadness.

I realized that night that sometimes time and space don’t matter.

A strong force is busy moving us in each other’s direction. Once in awhile, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale.

You just have to learn to float on the breeze.