We had book club last night, and once again, I started off not liking the book, and then we started talking about it and these girls got me to see different layers and I found myself actually saying, "yah, I would definately re-read this." Forget infomercials... these girls could sell sand to a nomad!
But isn't that great, in a way how perspectives can change? The book this month was called "Let the big world Spin" a book of short stories about different strangers that were somehow all intertwined... and I sat there at book club and I realized, just like this book, everyone sitting around this table has a main connection to me and yet random connections to each other. Suddenly, I wanted to drop the book and talk about that, isn't it true how life is sometimes stranger than fiction and life is sometimes more interesting than some of the greatest stories. Which got me thinking "what's my story?" How do people tell it... oh the girl that went off to Sweden, married a Swede, had twins...
I recently re-connected with a high school friend via facebook, the last time we saw each other was the summer after graduation, and I had literaly not heard from or about her since then. And suddenly, there she was, sending a "friend request", the first thing I do is have a quick look at her photos, trying to figure out who is who, then the email alert comes on.... it's a few lines from her with the bare details, I quicky respond...... and here it is.... my email, my story, in just a few lines.... How do I introduce myself? What am I? Check correct box kind of thing.... female, immigrant.... mother... of 3..... twins... teacher.....maternitiy leave.....
But what really is my story? How would I tell it or want it to be told? Is it the greatest love story?... or is it... who cares about that and who wants to hear about Julia living in Sweden, married with children... I mean really?
For me, it was the high wire of love! Twently years old, and not even a glimmer of what lie ahead. I had just settled into my new apartment, in the dorms, I had 3 roommates and there was definatley that nervous energy in the air, exciting, fresh, expectant, like anything could happen, this" je ne sais quoi" that seems to bubble out of youth!
The ironic thing is, although we all felt it in our youth, no one wanted to show it back then. The difference is now, when we are older and find ourselves in one of these moments, someone always has to comment with a "wow this is great", "this is what life is all about" and the reply is "yah your right"...nod and smile...reflect. Can you imagine saying that to a room of 20 year olds who are just hanging out?.... the immediate response would be "yah sure, you don't get out much do you?"- I mean why was enthusiasm so uncool back then,.... it's so refreshing now!.... I guess we can take that as a sure sign of getting older!
So even though just hanging out playing cards with a bunch of "new friends" could of made any long day feel like a hickup in time, you had to pretend that you were only mildly impressed and quite board actually, I mean that was the only cool thing to do. So there we sat, Mats and I playing cards, a few others that only had bit parts in my life that year, and then there was a knock at the door. My room mate Anna says "Oh that's probably Henrik, he's another Swedish exchange student" I was of course single and always in the market for potentials... so my immediate thought was.... "what another Swede?, I thought Mats, Johan and Martin where the other Swedish exchange students.... are you telling me their is another one?,,, the lost Swede?!" And then it happened, she opened the door, I saw him, and from that moment life would never be the same, it was like the movies... full on.... stars, birds, slow motion, que theme music....what have you... but suddenly, I was on that tightrope.... high above the city trying to make it from A-B so exciting but terrifying, and I knew right then at that moment, if he would let me I would follow him to our life's end.
