Happily Ever After?

I've always liked romantic comedies. Pretty Woman. The Notebook. Those sappy "chick flicks" have always been my favorites. I don't try to hide it. I get plenty of harassment from the guys for it, but I don't mind. Those movies always touch my heart, no matter how silly or cliched they are. I like them anyway. I think the reason I like them is that I'm a romantic. I believe, deep down, that a fairytale love affair can actually happen. You meet a girl and all the sudden everything moves in slow motion. The music starts playing. She smiles. You smile. Its instant.

In today's world, that type of fairytale doesn't make much sense. Happily ever after seems like a by gone notion anymore. People have become a bit skeptical about the idea of fairytale love and soul mates and all that. Try telling your mother that you fell in love yesterday over breakfast and you're likely to get a lukewarm response at best. People just don't believe anymore. But I've always counted myself among the believers.

Still, I wonder why it is that when I find myself smack dab in the middle of my very own fairytale, I can't help but wonder if its real. Maybe because I've had my share of heartbreaks, I can't help but wonder which way this story's gonna turn out. When you watch it on a movie screen, there's really never any doubt. Even when the drama starts and they fight and go their separate ways, you know they'll get back together. When the girl is crying, and the rain is pouring, and the sad song is playing, you just sit with your popcorn and wait for the strings to come in. You know they will. All those twists and turn are only in there to make the ending more fulfilling. Because that's the point. The happily ever after. When it's your life, though, it isn't quite as simple and easy as that.

So here I am in the beginning of my very own romantic comedy. I don't get to sit with my popcorn and watch this one. I've got a part to play. I wonder how this one's gonna end. Somebody cue the strings.