You gotta

Saturday night was one big ole party, my high school reunion - my 50th. Please humor me by looking shocked. But what a great evening. Big picture wise, it was all the good words that you hope you can say the morning after anything. I also found myself thinking about the individual lives of our classmates. One came all the way from Oregon to attend. She was my houseguest for a few days so we had a chance to really talk about things in the context of the reunion. Pam made the best statement, observing that, in one way or another, we all live an unexpected life. Ain't that the truth. And yet, my impression from all these people who have weaved in and out of my life for 50 years is that many have managed to more than handle their own curve balls and disappointments. If you've read "Hey, God? Yes, Charles.", you know another widow once said to me, "Life really is fair, it ultimately breaks everyone's heart." And I guess there was probably not a single heart in that room Saturday night that had never been broken, or at least pretty badly bent, one way or another. Yet the vibe was upbeat, strong, and, even in a class as special as ours, the resilience of the individual was evident. I mean we had newlyweds in the house! And when the band cranked up, the first two people on the dance floor both claimed heart surgeries! It's not funny but it is and it's also great! Mostly it all reminded me of a song I recently heard by Old Dominion. The lines that caught my ear were:

"You know you can't keep the ground from shaking, no matter how hard you try,

You can't keep the sunsets from fading

You gotta treat your love like you're jumping off a rope swing maybe cause the whole thing is really just a shot in the dark

You gotta love like there's no such thing as a broken heart."

Read that last line again. I think that's what people are doing. I am saying - because I am seeing - that it can be hard and it can take awhile, but we all do gotta love like there's no such thing as a broken heart. Because we all gotta make this next 50 count too.