A Voice-A Look-A Touch-A Closeness

For the woman who’s loved a man before he was ready—I won’t pretend the end was all on me. But still—I wish I had been the man I am now, back then.I can’t go back.But I can be grateful for the part she played in helping me become the one I’ll be for someone else.

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲.𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵, 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.They wonder if he ever became the man she knew he could be.This post is for her. He was the one left behind, and so walked away.And yeah—it broke him,in ways he didn’t know he could.But it also sharpened him,softened him,shaped him. He didn’t come back louder.He came…

Living by the ocean, this is the sign I look for every year that winter has finally broke. The coast is waking up today! The first ribbon of water opening as the ice breaks and separates, and the first of the fleet being moved into place. The lobsters are coming out of hibernation, and the…

You do the cooking? I do the cooking?You do the laundry? I do the laundry?You brush the dog? I shave the cat? Just details. What I’m after is the woman whose company makes the doings feel like the main event. A best friend who turns a Tuesday at the stove into a highlight of my…

I spent years trying to “fix” the relationship. I worked at it so hard I didn’t see the trap:I was trying so hard to change the outside world—because I didn’t know how to handle the one I actually could control.⠀When a relationship ended, I didn’t just lose “us.”I realized I had used the intimate comfort,the…

Neglect doesn’t always look like walking away. Sometimes it looks like staying, but no longer being curious.