Word of the Day, vol. XX

Word of the Day: LOVE

There are many kinds of love.

And I needed all of them to make it through grad school.

In honor of them, I give you a list:

-The Spill-our-guts-at-the-first-lunch-we-shared love. This turns into New-friend love. Which turns into We-have-to-work-together love. Which turns into the fierce love that makes you sob in public.

-The Snarky-sneaks-up-on-you love. Which turns into the love that takes you to a tiny apartment where you drink lots of red wine and gossip until it’s suddenly two in the morning. The love that you know can’t end because you’d both be able to blackmail the other with juicy, hilarious info.

-The We’re-so-not-going-to-be-friends-then-we’re-best-friends love. The love that turns into sleepovers and tears and gratefulness for what you’ve learned. The love that has to change because it’s too intense.

-The other kind of We’re-so-not-going-to-be-friends love. The one that turns into the Holy-shit-she’s-wiser-than-her-platinum-blonde-hair-and-white-stilettos-show love. Which turns into the She-saved-me-on-a-national-holiday love. Which turns into an intense, almost sisterly, pact.

-The Let’s-sit-and-sing-and-make-faces-at-each-other love. That turns into the Always-down-for-anything-love. That turns into the Sunniest-most-generous-friend love.

-The love that rescues you when you’re totally confounded by your eighth grade class. A sort of Southern-gentlemanly love that you think couldn’t possibly be as easy as it is. But, it is.

-The New-friend love that you totally trust. The love that tells you you’re beautiful and deserve the world. The love that sends you champagne and cookies because what else would you possibly need?

-The love that reminds you there’s someone across the country going through stuff just as deep and lets you write about it, honestly and frankly and never judges that.

-The love that you have for the young people you’ve worked with. Those who shared the intense experience of your teaching. Who made you laugh hysterically and who broke your hearts with their openness and friendship.

-The love you learn to accept from a mentor, who listens and supports you through one of the most difficult challenges of your life. The love you know has developed because you’ve been through the war together, and she’s helped you survive it.

-The love that is just as emotional as you are and that challenges you because of that. The love that makes the whole machine run, indefatigably and with grace and passion.

-The love that holds you up when you decide to GO THERE and then you break. The love that never makes you ashamed of that. That gently steps on your foot while you sob to remind you that you’re still there and you’re not alone.

-The love that reminds you why you want to be a teacher. Or whatever you are. That speaks about it with such passion that you weep because it weeps. The love that gives you advice that pegs you between the eyes. And then changes you forever.

-The love that demands you to understand who you are. That sits with you for hours, sharing stories of theatre and art and family and loss. The love that makes the whole experience unforgettable. And makes you bigger and better than you expected.

-The love that is guaranteed to make you laugh and texts with you through important TV shows. That calls to vent about family and work. The love that doesn’t really understand what you’re doing but supports you with fierce and protective pride anyway.

-The love that keeps you fed and sane. And is only eleven houses away. The love that, in a crisis, drops everything and brings you McDonald’s and lets you cry over it.

-The love that sat glued in front of its computer to see you walk across the stage and texted you ten times to let you know it was with you in spirit and could you hear it clapping?

-The love that got you there in the first place.

-The Chosen-sister love that keeps you going and overwhelms you every day. The love that sends cards at just the right moment. The love where it’s safe to feel your worst but that makes you feel your best.

I couldn’t have done it without you.