There will always be signs – in life and in love… but will you see them? Will you heed them?
Some signs in life are meant to be ignored. I mean, ”This playground equipment is intended for children 5-12 years of age” – seriously? Challenge accepted. Others, like Speed Limit signs in small towns – yeah, those you might want to pay attention to… trust me on that one.
At some point in any relationship, there are bound to be signs too. Stop signs, Wrong Way signs, You’ve Just Driven Off a Cliff signs… careful, that last one is a doozy. Look, I’m no Couples Therapist, but too many of those signs and you may want to just take the first Exit sign you see.
Fortunately, when you are in the right relationship, there will be signs as well.
Maybe it’s something as critical as a shared faith, or as important as the foundational belief in family. Or maybe it’s about sharing common interests – whether it be something simple like cold pizza is a great breakfast, or something of monumental significance such as baseball is the best game on earth.
Then again, maybe it’s something totally random – like, say, a weird knowledge of Geography. Hear me out, world travelers.
Look, I’ve known since well into the last millennium that Melanie and I were ‘hechos para estar juntos’ (ha, see, I’ve been to Spain – and know how to use Google Translate). Over the years there have been literally hundreds of signs – the good kind! – so I didn’t need anything specific to confirm what I already knew. Still, every once in a while, one of those silly things happens that makes you go, ‘yeah, she’s the only one on the planet who would both tolerate my silliness and actually be able to play along.’
As Exhibit A to prove my point, I provide you with a rare peek into one of our text conversations from a few years back. Two things to note: 1/ at this point, we had already been together for nearly 30 years – so I wasn’t at all surprised by the direction the conversation took, and 2/ no, I have absolutely no idea why I still have a decade old text thread on file – I’m a packrat, sue me. 🙂
But when I found it, I thought it was a fun read. So here goes, safe travels my friends…
[6/22/2012 16:09:36 – Melanie] No checks in the mail
[6/22/2012 16:10:06 – Mitch] what about a Czech in the mail?
[6/22/2012 16:11:35 – Melanie] Apparently they aren’t “Russian” it
[6/22/2012 16:12:22 – Mitch] that would exSpain it
[6/22/2012 16:13:47 – Melanie] I don’t think we’ll go Hungary tho
[6/22/2012 16:18:22 – Mitch] hope you won’t need to Peruv that
[6/22/2012 16:19:20 – Melanie] Yugo with that
[6/22/2012 16:21:13 – Mitch] Kenya even imagine tho?
[6/22/2012 16:23:43 – Melanie] No(r) way!
[6/22/2012 16:25:23 – Mitch] yeah, that would be Laos(y)!
[6/22/2012 16:30:43 – Melanie] Have it Uruguay
[6/22/2012 16:31:35 – Mitch] don’t worry, Iran to the store, so we’re ok
[6/22/2012 16:36:12 – Melanie] I need a drink, did you pick up ice Cuba?
[6/22/2012 16:36:42 – Mitch] no, but I got some Chile
[6/22/2012 16:50:11 – Melanie] Who did your Pakin,Stan?
[6/22/2012 16:51:27 – Mitch] I did it myself, because Iraq like that
[6/22/2012 16:52:09 – Melanie] Swede
[6/22/2012 16:57:26 – Mitch] yeah, but I think Egypt me off on my change
[6/22/2012 16:58:41 – Melanie] Do you have enough to buy some Guam
[6/22/2012 17:01:18 – Mitch] no, I got into a big fight and Icelanded in jail
[6/22/2012 17:06:25 – Melanie] Don’t eat the Turkey, I heard it’s bad
[6/22/2012 17:08:12 – Mitch] yeah, this is a bad situation, doesn’t seem like it Isreal
[6/22/2012 17:09:32 – Melanie] If you get cold, I’ll bring you an Afghan
[6/22/2012 17:11:01 – Mitch] Irish I hadn’t done it
[6/22/2012 17:20:46 – Melanie] I’m gonna meet with the judge, Greece his palm
[6/22/2012 17:22:58 – Mitch] ooh, I Canada-nye that is a good idea
[6/22/2012 17:24:23 – Melanie] It’s gonna take a Brazillion dollars to bail you out
[6/22/2012 17:26:20 – Mitch] that’s ok, it’s mostly Germany, not mine
[6/22/2012 17:28:33 – Melanie] Uh oh, I think I’m Finnish-ed
[6/22/2012 17:30:22 – Mitch] I Congo on and on though, if you’d like…
[6/22/2012 17:33:59 – Melanie] Are you sure you don’t got Togo
[6/22/2012 17:52:51 – Mitch] Syria-sly?
[6/22/2012 17:56:05 – Melanie] Oman… When will it stop?
[6/22/2012 18:06:54 – Mitch] I Haiti to think how long it could go
[6/22/2012 18:07:59 – Melanie] Just wait until Aunt Arctica hears about this!
[6/22/2012 18:09:19 – Mitch] yeah, it’s pretty unBeliezeable
[6/22/2012 18:12:38 – Melanie] Can’t believe it’s raining again! Makes for a very GreenLand
[6/22/2012 18:19:49 – Mitch] really, too much rain and we’ll be Indiap water
[6/22/2012 18:22:31 – Melanie] Better call Chad… Wait I mean Noah.
[6/22/2012 18:30:05 – Mitch] animals two by two, don’t forget the New Guinea pigs
[6/22/2012 18:34:35 – Melanie] I am Mad-a-gas-car costs a lot of money. Getting gas now
[6/22/2012 18:42:06 – Mitch] Uganda get gas enough times you should know that
And with that, our globe-trotting texting session came to the end of the road. It was random, a little wacky, and quite a bit of fun. It was also just one more confirmation of something I already knew – despite the 7,000,000,000 to 1 odds, I somehow ended up with the one and only person on the planet who was truly meant for me.
