A couple of friends have asked me about the meaning behind the header for the month of March – Finding Lyrical Beauty in…HISTORY. First off, I love the word ‘history’. To me it’s sexy, smart and mysterious. OK, put it this way, when you hear two people described as having history, aren’t you intrigued? Were they lovers once? Did they have wild fights and crazy make up sessions? Or, if it’s history between two BFFs, did one ever steal the other’s boyfriend? Potentially juicy stuff, history.
I even like the way the word history sounds like a soft 3 syllable purr. Everyone has a history, or I guess a more common way to put it would be baggage. Thud. I’m not as fond of that word because it seems to imply something negative, like a burden. You can’t make your way through life without creating history with the people you meet and the experiences you…well, experience.

What do I find beautiful about history? It’s kinda like what Tracy talked about yesterday; the serenity that comes with knowing who you are, who your friends are, where you’ve been and how far you’ve come. History implies connection and interaction and a certain level of commitment. You’ve got more invested in relationships that have a larger amount of history attached. But wait, does that mean I’m saying you stick around just because of the time you’ve invested? Geez, I hope not, if that’s the only reason you’re there. I’m confusing myself… I think I just mean you’re more understanding of the foibles and flaws in the people you’ve known for a while because you’ve also had time to see the shiny perfect polished sides, too.  Yeah, I think that’s it…

You know when you go on dates, or used to in my case, and you’re in that ‘getting to know you’ stage and you get to carefully pick and chose what information about your history you wish to reveal and when? Wasn’t that fun! Remember the advice you’d get “don’t tell everything at once. Leave something for next time”.  Did you follow it? No need to tell a potential soul mate about every past relationship and why you think they failed. TMI. Some history should be kept secret a bit longer.

So, that’s a little bit of an explanation about why I picked the word history to highlight this month. I was thinking mainly about long term girlfriend-type BFF relationships, but all relationships fit. The people in my life are the most important things to me. A girlfriend I’ve know since I was 16  said to me a few years ago (after we’d had a bit of a tiff) “Jacquie, I picture myself in my 80’s sitting around drinking tea with all my girlfriends and talking about our lives. You’re all so important to me”. That picture has stuck in my mind ever since. I want those long term friendships that make life worth living to keep growing and evolving and creating new history. I want to share my history with my friends and share in theirs. I want to look through scrapbooks and see beautifully arranged snippets of our history together… uh, now I know I’m starting to babble so I’ll sign off quickly. See, I do know when to quit talking… : )