Love and an Analogy
... certain people in. Why? Your friends can see that the woman’s not fun and demanding, but we don’t listen, making up excuses like, “Oh, you don’t know her; she’s not like this in private.” Oh really? So she’s only boring when out in public? That’s comforting. I’ve been in my share of relationships with people that were not exactly what I needed. You get caught up in the magic of it all and see this person as “perfect.” Your friends, secretly, hate this person and think she’s flaky, but they keep that to themselves. I know they’re trying to be happy for you, but at the same time, it’s only wasting everyone’s time. Relationships are like shoes. We can’t live without them, right? But at times, you wish we were back in the stone-age when barefoot was the way to go. We go to the shoe store, or the shop of your choice, and you look around, checking out the different styles. Every color and shape is represented. So you see this one pair that you think is so hot! These will be “the” pair to end all pairs! Based on appearances, you ask your friend, the sales clerk, what they think. Of course, the clerk, working on commission, and your friend, being your friend, says, “Oh yeah! Those leather shoes are fine!” That may be the case, but then you try them on. So you try on these great looking shoes and immediately you’re thinking, “Wow, I’m gonna cut a rug with these babies!” However, after you’ve taken a couple of steps you realize they aren’t very comfortable. Regardless, they look good, and maybe you just need to break them in? Because everyone knows it’s easy to change people, er, to break in shoes. So now you’ve made the sacrifice and are in possession of the shoes. You get them home and you love them. For a good while you’re in awe of them, all shiny and new—very. However, you can’t really shake the fact that they hurt when you wear them. What’s supposed to be a night of fun ends up being a torture and all you can do is anticipate getting home so you can rip them off your aching heart, I mean feet. But they still look hot, so you put up with them. More time elapses and you’ve fallen into a rut. They’re not comfortable; you’ve accepted that and are dealing with it. It’s safe, you don’t want to go back to the shoe store and begin again. They weren’t cheap, either! They’re not shiny any more, but since you’re just going through the motions, does it matter anymore? Every once and a while you try to buff them, or match them to something else, trying to get excited about them again, but it’s no use. The shoes are not working with you on this one, so it’s a losing battle. And they still hurt. After the countless blisters and sor...