Literally. I have been moving the past couple of weeks and have acquired a disturbing number of bruises. My legs alone are up to at least sixteen of them. The biggest and best one? It's baseball sized and on my left... uh, cheek. And it was from a fabulous fall after being stuck in the mud for several minutes during The Dirty Dash last Saturday. It was basically a muddy 5k with random obstacles, such as the hogbales, slop 'n slide, and pig sty. I had a good time getting disgustingly dirty, navigating past the snow machine in the summer, falling more times than I care to admit, and seeing all of the costumed runners.
I have thought a lot about all of these marks on my body from the dreaded move... and then I remembered that the most notable, and unmentionable, one was from a new, exhilarating experience. As I'm looking to put my ever-changing life in perspective, I hope I can remember that there are so many good things happening - new friendships, going back to school, opportunities to grow through trials, and just fun times - that also leave their mark on me. And, in the end, those will be the things I notice and can't resist talking about, like my left cheek.
All of this bruise talk has brought Art Garfunkel's song "All I Know" to mind many times...
I bruise you
You bruise me
We both bruise too easily
I am an emotional person and I do bruise easily. My poor heart has taken a beating this past year. I read about a women recently who left her career as a physician because she felt she had to limit her caring for her patients to meet the requirements of her job. She didn't want to be the kind of person who gives only so much. That's not who she is. It's not who I am. With Zach, with my recent heartbreak, with friends, I cannot be the kind of person who only gives so much. I give of myself completely and I love whole-heartedly. I acquire many bruises this way, but I can't live any differently. It is not in me. I hold on to the hope that someday I will be in a relationship where there is no such thing as caring too much, where I can love freely.
I bruise too easily and I wouldn't have it any other way.
