Y'all follow along with me here for just a minute.

Remember in Dances with Wolves, how Wind In His Hair was so hateful to the Lieutenant at first? Finally they became friends. Wind In His Hair said something to the effect of, I didn't want to like you, because the woman was going to marry my best friend, and he was killed.

And the thing he said next has stuck with me always. He said...

I think he left because you were coming.

I remember that every time I feel a loss. Of course nothing can replace some of the people, things, situations we lose. New experiences have a beauty all their own, and somehow magically arrive when we are ready. And sometimes we discover, the things we lost, were really not that important after all.

Sure, it sucks in the meantime. A lot of us here know that firsthand. Sometimes you wonder if you will ever feel better, if you will just have to find joy in misery and learn to live with it. But look at how the sun comes up every morning; and even in parts of the world where there's 6 months of darkness, the sun still comes back, it just takes a little longer.

I understand how that right now you can feel like all relationships end in tears. But even the very best riders will tell you, you have to fall off the horse a lot before you can stay on. ;-)