On Subtraction

11,923 is the estimated number of random strangers I've "bumped into" over the last year.
5,091 is the number of MP3's I stash on my hard drive.
3,200 is the number of stickers I owned and collected in early grade school.
400 is the number of CDs I own.
300 is the number of books I own.
165 is the number of human pounds I've physically lifted off the ground.
67 is the number of vertical inches I command.
49 is the number of poems I've written.
38 is the number of shoes I keep in rotation (more or less).
24 is the number of years I've known my oldest and dearest friend.
13 is the number of journals I've kept over the years.
10 is the number of countries I've visited in my quest to see the world.
9 is the number of foods I'm allergic to (and of course, enjoy eating).
8 is the number of times I've been to a house of faith.
8 is also the greatest number of inches of hair I've ever cut at once.
7 is my chosen lucky number.
6 is the number of jobs I've had since graduating college.
3 is the number of wisdom teeth I still have (but not for long).
2 is the number of siblings I have (yay for the middle child).
1 2 is the number of boys I've honestly loved.
1 is also the number of times I've ever been seriously injured.
0 is the number of times I'm willing to compromise my beliefs.

On Hope

Her world came crashing down in that moment of discovery. Fourteen years whittled down to five months of ignorance and agony. When the truth broke, her faith was broken too. Things fall apart. People fall apart. But I worried - how would she move beyond the pain and deception to gather herself and become whole again? It seemed her only misdeed was perhaps trusting too much and loving with her whole heart. He broke her faith in love, truth and kindness. It seemed that nothing was truly sacred. If fourteen years together didn't equate to trust, surely it would take her that much longer to regain trust in goodness. In people. In listening to her instincts. In following her heart.

A year has now passed since that devastating day. It was a terrible lesson for her to learn about love and self. It was also her greatest lesson in loss. But somehow, she steadied herself in time and began the recovery process. She opened herself up to possibilities and little by little, began to imagine Happiness. In the process, she is redefining what happiness is for her and finding her way back to Faith. She is learning to trust again and embracing the idea of Love, which is slowly revealing itself again in the familiar and the new.

She is what I think of when I imagine goodness. She has shown me that life doesn't pause despite the most piercing circumstances. She has taught me that when things falls apart, a new will can be built in its place and it can be stronger than we ever imagined. In her unknowing example, she has taught me the greatest lesson in Hope.