Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

This past weekend was well spent in the company of one of my oldest and best friends, Meagan. We met during my freshman year of high school and she was quick to overlook my quirky habits and odd style and befriend me. One of my biggest regrets is that we didn't spend more time together during high school, but luckily we're making up for it now.
A few years ago Meagan and her family moved down to South Carolina. She currently resides in Myrtle Beach with her boyfriend and spaz-cat Spook. I must admit I've never been the girl who surrounded herself with a lot of other girls. My Friday nights were not spent at sleepovers and I was clueless about mani/pedis and the latest gossip. I find that when one is socially awkward like I am, time is better spent in front of a computer writing to no one and enjoying some Tegan and Sara and a cup of Chock Full of Nuts (thanks, Meagan). Anyway, I digress. My point is that it was very enjoyable to be in her company. We woke up when we pleased, stayed in our pajamas and watched lots of comedies. We went shopping and spent too much money but didn't let it bother us. We had a sushi date and cried in public during a sappy movie (damn you, Nicholas Sparks). We even got drunk off of Royal Flushes (try it; you'll like it) and went out to the clubs.
On Monday we spent our afternoon in Charleston. Our navigation skills are not top-notch but even though we got turned around a few times we managed to get where we wanted to go. This was the part of the trip that frightened me more than anything. Let's just say there are a lot of ghosts for me there in that town, in beautiful Charleston, but they are no longer getting the best of me. It may be the same story you hear from a lot of people about a past love and watching it slip through your hands, but when you're the one feeling the crippling loss it's different. I spent countless hours asking myself, "If you knew we could not fly, why'd you let me leave the ground?" I had this out-of-body experience and watched us go through the cycle and saw how we never got the timing down, and everyone knows timing is everything. What I dislike most about relationships and love is the moment of realization when you know that it's gone, or maybe it was never quite there in the first place, not simultaneously, not at the level where both people needed it to be. Yet as I walked those streets and passed the places we'd eaten in or stores we'd shopped at, I saw those things through different eyes. This is what progress feels like; this is me letting go.
The best part of the trip, hands down, was seeing John Mayer live in person. I'm not certain how it's possible to love one person so much since we've never met and we likely never will, but I swear I love that man. He has such a beautiful soul; it is evident in his emotion-filled lyrics and in the sounds of his bluesy guitar-playing. If he makes love to his women the way that he makes love to his guitar I'm at a loss as to how he ever convinces them to leave the bedroom. Meagan and I went from mocking some of the young girls around us ("OH MY GOD WE'RE ABOUT TO SEE JOHN OMG OMG!") to joining right in. I swear we were jumping up and down screaming, "OH MY GOD HE'S PLAYING 'NO SUCH THING!' THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!" In fact we loved seeing him so much that we may go see him again next month when he comes to Greensboro.



Ah, girl time! Thank you to Meagan, who I am certain will read this. I love you more than you know and I will always be here for you, no matter the distance!