tedwords

"The stars must be my friends to shine for me..." Christine McVie

Two nights before the end of the cruise, Corb and I went up to the top of the ship for a bit of star gazing around 1:30. There is a favorite spot we have that's often rather secluded that gives you some great views of the sky. You can spread out on a chair, lift your head up, and just relax.

Unfortunately, the place wasn't as secluded as we have wished. Maybe because of the summer months, there were a lot of teens, and about ten minutes into our sequester, with a cool summer breeze blowing, a gaggle of teen age girls made there way to the deck and decided to hang out in some chairs near us.

We couldn't see them, but we could hear them.

"Oh my god, guys! There's this movie I saw the other day? It's called, A Greek Wedding? You gotta see it!"

That one makes me chuckle. She had to be referring to My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

I guess there is a third installment that was filmed last year, and a lot of it was filmed on the Island of Corfu. As it turns out, the very first day of filming in Corfu, Corb and I were also on that island, during our Greek cruise. So, if you see a tall blond guy and his devilishly handsome bald sidekick in the movie, you know who it is!

(Note: there is zero percent chance this happened.)

Actually, it was kind of fun hearing them chatter on. As the evening/morning grew later, their conversation started to dwindle off. It kind of reminded me of late night conversations I had between my friends as a teenager, late at night. Stupid inside jokes and memories and dreams.

I felt a sense of contentment come over me, mixed with just a wave of melancholy. I miss late night conversations like that. And yet, I'm having one with Corb at the same exact time.

It would be nice to have another cruise with a few friends along for the ride, I thought. But only every so often. I like our independence on these trips.

Every so often, I would grab my phone and write down a few thoughts. Things I wanted to remember. The big one from that night: the stars in the skies are twinkling manifestations of all the lives we've touched.

Souls brush up and connect with souls. Spirits come into collision at young ages, some connect momentarily, some continue a conversation that lasts for decades, and is it possible that it even continues for decades/time unknown before/after that? Yes, I believe that.

Time is infinite, spirits bond and connect, move away, move forward, form casual connections formed through the lifetimes.

You don't like this lifetime, wait a minute. There's another yet to come.

You do like this lifetime? Good on you, the best is yet to come.

Another thought I have: I don't want to be doing anything I don't really care about after the age of 60. I'm not sure what that means, exactly, but I only have a few more years to figure it out. Ambivalence ends at 60.

I stare up at the night sky to the giggle and chatter until the time grows late and the girls finally rose from their seats and disbursed. And eventually, so did Corb and I. Time to head back to our room.

"I don't want this vacation to end," I say to Corb as we headed downstairs.

"You say that every time," he replies.

I grin, feeling the weight of my years and the lightness of my being. "I mean it every time, too."

The stars in the skies are twinkling manifestations of all the lives we've touched.