Weddings

I'm really not a big fan of weddings, never really have been. Yes I've been married twice myself (and separated twice) but that's not really the reason I don't like them - although I suppose its beginning to add to it.

I've always felt like weddings were a lot of hassle for nothing. A lot of people don't really enjoy them, they just go because they feel they should, or to be polite. The whole day can be stressful and long, especially if you have children and it doesn't mean an awful lot to anyone but the couple involved. Even for the couple themselves, weddings can be incredibly stressful and full of hassle for weeks up until the date. The they day goes past in such a blur that you barely remember it and you wonder why you put yourself through so much stress.

For my first wedding, I did the whole white wedding thing. The church, the white dress, the nice cars, the suits, the flowers, the lunch reception followed by evening disco - and honestly by the end of the day I really didn't remember all that much of it. I remember being so exhausted that there was no wedding bliss that night, just sleep and a feeling of being completely knackered.

When I got married the second time, it was a much more simple affair. We owned a restaurant and got married on Valentine's Day. Whilst this sounds romantic on paper, it was mostly for the publicity and we had 60 or so customers in the restaurant that evening. We got married at a registry office, not long after Megan was born and we went back to the reception with just the handful of people who came to the wedding, to enjoy champagne and bacon butties. After about an hour everyone went home, we got changed and spent the rest of the day in a panic about being ready for the evening. Admittedly I enjoyed it at the time, but that's because we kept it basic.

I'm going to a wedding tomorrow and its for my cousin and his (to be) wife. I've known about it since before my husband and I broke up and originally he was supposed to be coming too. However once we'd split up, I knew I would be facing the day alone, not only that but given the split, with raw feelings over marriage itself. I've been mentally preparing myself for it for a while now and whilst I don't expect it to be particularly enjoyable, I felt like I'd get through it. However last night I came down sick. I felt it coming on and I hoped it might be gone by morning but no such luck. Today I feel much worse with blocked nose, sore throat, chapped lips, aches and pains, and a cough. I'm managing ok in myself but I really feel like I lack in energy. On top of that I now have to face the likelihood that I'm going to be ill for the wedding.

All this combined is making me feel like crying. I don't really know why but I guess I'm feeling sorry for myself. Not only am I ill and will be forcing myself to go to a wedding, but now I feel like I probably won't make it through the day without getting upset or feeling even more like shit. I dunno why I'm posting about this really. Maybe just for reference I suppose. I just know that I'm now actually dreading tomorrow. I just hope that it isn't as bad as I'm anticipating.

Crush

I've been having such a nice few weeks that I've really had nothing specific to write about recently, but then every time I think of something I'd like to say, I end up getting distracted by something else and the moment just passes me by. Really this moment has passed me by, but I can't help feeling that I should post about it anyway.

There are very few people who know me, that will read this, but those of you who do, will know that for 8 years I have had a crush on Darius Campbell (originally Danesh). It started in Summer of 2002, when his first song "Colourblind" was released, although I have to admit I'd always liked him on the reality TV shows he'd been on. I bought the single and soon after I bought his first album "Dive In". In fact, a relationship I started with an ex boyfriend was based on our mutual love for Darius - having bonded over the fact he had a magazine with an article about the man himself in it and he let me read it. This was shortly followed by a first date to see Darius sing in a shopping centre in Leeds. My ex boyfriend and I even had an agreement, that if I was to ever get the chance to meet Darius and have him like me, he would agree to us breaking up. It all sounds a bit ridiculous now but in all honesty I believed that I could be someone that Darius would want to be with, someone he would like to date.

Now 8 years onwards and I have to admit that crush has died over the years. A whole marriage later and he was almost forgotten about, although seeing him would always remind me of that crush. As you know, I'm now seperated and trying to remember what I like and what I don't and I'll tell you this much, my crush on Darius is still there!

Starting his new "History of the Big Bands" tour, his 2nd date was in Lincoln and I booked tickets for myself and the afore mentioned ex boyfriend to go and see (I'd say we're still friends but I guess that's debatable considering he didn't actually end up going with me). In the end though, I actually ended up going with my mum and constantly she was worrying that she would stand out, being one of the oldest there. This in itself was a laugh a minute, because when we actually DID arrive at the theatre, my mum was probably of the average age and I was the one feeling out of place.

My friend had joked before hand, that I might get the chance to meet him, our eyes meeting across the theatre, that he might fall in love with me and we'd live happily ever after. Whilst the thought made me laugh I didn't hold the same confidence that that could actually happen. I was happy to just go and listen and enjoy his voice. Little did I know that our eyes would meet across the theatre and I would get to meet him.

The concerty was brilliant and his voice was just as sexy as I remembered it to be. My heart was pounding nearly the whole way through and every time he caught my eye (as he did with several people during the night I'm sure) my pulse would race and I felt like I might actually have a heart attack. This not so familiar feeling of someone making your heart flutter was incredibly welcome and when I realised I would get the opportunity to actually meet him I really wasn't sure if I had died and gone to heaven. He kissed my cheek, signed my program and had his picture taken with me - whilst my legs went weak, my cheeks blushed and my heart skipped a few too many beats. This is what makes a crush worth having!

Now I'm not completely insane. I know that it will have meant nothing to him and in all honesty a few days later and its meaning less to me too. I know its nothing more than a crush, I know there is no actual feelings involved, I know that there is no future. However for those few hours, for the moments, it made the crush completely and utterly worth it.

I'm not looking for another relationship right now. I fear it may be some time before I'm actually ready to let someone look after my heart again. But in the mean time I will make the most of every crush, heart flutter and swoon that I possibly can. Life is for living, not just observing. I want to know that I own my life, not just be a bistander.

Goodbyes

"Goodbye to you, goodbye to everything I thought I knew"

Goodbyes are usually very sad things. Ok, sometimes you're just politely saying bye to a customer or someone who has served you in a shop, or sometimes a friend or family member who you know you will see or speak to again within in a few days - but mostly, saying goodbye can be a very sad time.

People come and go from your life and you rarely get the opportunity to actually say goodbye to them. When people die, you wish you got the opportunity to say goodbye. When friendships drift and eventually break, you realise that you never really said bye, it just happened. Sometimes we say goodbye, knowing that we don't know the next time we'll see a person, but we're not sad because we know we will again one day or that there is at least the opportunity you will. Other times its people we went to school with who we say goodbye to on the last day of school and if we see them again its great and if we don't then it doesn't really matter. With things like Facebook and especially the internet as a whole, we often find ourselves back in touch with those people anyway.

But saying goodbye to a loved one, that is the hardest thing. There is a scene in "Love Actually" which I absolutely love, where the Prime Minister is talking about airports. As it happens, he's actually talking about the Arrivals gate, but the Departure gate must be a very similar affair. People saying goodbye for short times and people saying goodbye for long times. Saying goodbye as people move away, go on holiday, or go away for business. Either way, saying goodbye is a heart breaking things to do. However, in most circumstances, you know there is always a chance that you will see that person again - that the possibility is never completely ruled out.

So what about when a relationship ends? When a boyfriend and girlfriend split up, when a marriage seperates, when people realise they no longer want to be together? Well I don't know about you, but I don't really remember saying goodbye to many relationships. I remember being told someone didn't want to be with me, or telling someone else the same thing. Usually break ups are messy and hurtful and the last thing you're actually thinking about saying is the word "goodbye". In most cases we don't want to see the person again, or if you do then its a one sided thing and they no longer feel the same. Again you just drift by, never knowing if you might catch a glimpse of that person, or bump into them somewhere. In marriages and seperations, where children are involved, you rarely get to really say goodbye. You say it to the relationship, to the marriage, but you know that person will still remain in your life forever - you'll always see them.

But how many times have you been knowingly able to say goodbye to a relationship? How many times have you been given the opportunity to say "Goodbye, I know I'll never see you again." For whatever reason, you have decided the relationship won't work and its over. You know that you can't possibly see or speak to each other and you have to cut the final thread, saying goodbye to that person for good. Its polite and its emotionless, as you've tried to say goodbye so many other times and so many other ways, that you've exhausted all other emotions. You're left feeling nothing but numb and empty, not quite able to believe that its really happened. I did this today, so trust me I know.

But, I hear you saying, how do you know you'll never see or speak to this person again? The answer is I don't. In my heart, I'm not even sure I believe its forever, dispite what's been said today. I have known this person for 9 years and been in touch with them on and off throughout that time. During those years my feelings have been fairly consistent, increasing rather than deminishing. Do I truly believe I will never see or speak to that person again? I really don't know. I don't even know whether I want it to be that way or not. But if it is, and that was goodbye to 9 years and everything that went along with it - it was both the easiest and hardest thing I have ever done. All those feelings, seem so wasted by an ending like that, but what other way is there to say goodbye? We can't do nice goodbyes, not when it really matters, because then there is too much temptation to cling on. And we can't do bad goodbyes, because then there is too much temptation to apologise and put things right. If that was goodbye for good, it really was the only way it could happen.

Familiarity

This week has been one of the hardest of my life so far. On Monday, my husband moved out and after spending a whole day working, I helped him from 7pm-1.30am to move all his things. This in itself was an incredible rollercoaster of emotions, resulting in lots of wine with a friend and no sleep until 6am (being up again at 9am). In fact, this week has largely been about not much sleep, having had only 1hr between 6am and 7am this morning too. Really, I should be in bed right now I suppose and I'll go, once I've written this post.

Over the last few days, I have formed many posts in my head - on a variety of thoughts. However with everything that's been going on, sitting down and writing my thoughts onto paper (or computer screen), hasn't been at the top of my list of things to do. I decided that once I've had a week or so of the current situation, I'll write about how it feels now my husband has moved out, but those feelings are so up and down at the moment I'm not sure I could put it into words anyway.

So the point of this particular post was familiarity and how it effects your feelings I suppose. You know when you know someone really well, and you're used to their company, you understand how they think and their reactions to certain things... you're familiar with them. With this comes a comfortableness and of course a certain amount of feelings. Something I have noticed over the last few weeks, is that familiarity can actually cause a huge amount of confussion. The thing I am dealing with at the moment, is does familiarity effect the way you feel about people, can it make you think you have feelings, or possibly even love, when maybe its nothing more than that familiar feeling. How do you know? How can you tell whether its love or if its just something familiar, something reliable, someone you know and understand.

Right now I guess I'm a little bit scared of the future and what it might bring. The thought of starting a relationship from the beginning again (even though I have no intention of doing so any time soon - its something I will need to consider one day), getting to know someone again, it honestly terrifies me. Don't get me wrong, there are some lovely parts to the first few weeks of a relationship - the romance, the passion, being swept away in the moment. First kisses, first hugs, butterfly flutters in your stomach. All those things I miss from starting a relationship. But having to get to know someone, let them know you, explain how you work, what makes you tick, what you like and what you don't - all that makes me feel a little bit sick.

And sometimes, when I'm low, I wonder if it would be better to have someone than no one, to tolerate an average relationship, rather than nothing at all. Because what if every relationship ends up that way in the long run, what if that's what relationships are, that there is no happily ever after? In which case why go through all the looking again and the learning and the understanding.

Familiarity with a person, makes you believe you have feelings for them. How do you know if they are real or not? We throw around the word love so much but how can we tell when its love and how can we tell when its actually just being with someone who understands you and who life feels easy with, even if just for that moment. When you still experience the butterflies in your stomach, the anticipation of a kiss, the sudden urge to just be held... when you realise that you don't want them to leave, when you miss them when they're gone...

Is that love? Is that just feelings from the past emerging again? Or is it nothing more than familiarity, clouding your judgement and making you think its something more than what it is.

I don't know the answer to this. I honestly don't. I'd like to think I know myself well enough to know real feelings from something you're just wanting to cling on to - but who can be sure?

Familiarity does breed contempt, but it also breeds a lot of confusion.