Monday, March 14, 2011

When Things are Hard


"Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard" The Scientist, Coldplay. 


I was poking around some of my old music this past weekend, and came across my Coldplay collection. Coldplay is one of the few mainstream bands I can listen to without cringing these days (thanks to my Husbeast for turning me into a music snob), and several of the band's songs have especially memory-provoking attributes for me. Rob and I danced to "Green Eyes" at our wedding, so that song can almost always bring on a nostalgic tear or two. 


"Honey you should know
That I could never go on without you"


 When Annabelle was wee and jaundiced, I used to sing "Yellow" to her... 


"Your skin 
Oh yeah your skin and bones 
Turn into something beautiful"

There's something soothing about simple, heartfelt songs with meaningful yet uncontrived lyrics. When I listened to "The Scientist" again, I sat and pondered the difficulty of life at times. I know I haven't chosen the easier paths of least resistance in many cases. Often, I choose more challenging directions in life because I believe them to be more noble, more rewarding in the long run, more in line with my beliefs about life, love, parenting, generosity, peace on Earth... goodwill toward humankind and all that. Nobody said it would be easy. But wow, I didn't know it was going to be this hard. 


I had a conversation with Rob this weekend about the weather (aren't we a profound couple?). Tallahassee isn't known for its idyllic weather. Oh no, Tallahassee has despicable weather. It's chilly and dreary in the winter (but with no snow), and it's hotter and more humid than an arm pit in the summer. However, for a few very short weeks in the spring, and even fewer shorter weeks in the fall, Tallahassee has breathtakingly lovely, soul-nourishing weather. Those are the weeks when it is pleasure to be alive, sucking in cool crisp clean air and feeling warm beautiful sunshine on skin. 


Rob and I decided we were ready for for a little spring in our lives, a period of less stress, less blood sweat and tears, a time when we can just sit back and take a breather, even if just for a short while. It's hard to find that place in between too cold and too hot, much harder than one might imagine. But then again, nobody said it was easy.