Imagining Good is Hard

When I was preparing for marriage and maybe panicking a tiny bit about my capacity to do all that I imagined marriage would require, I got given wise words from a wise friend.  She sat across from me and said something like this:  Any moron can imagine the hard parts.  But not even the smartest one can know the good parts until you live them.

She was a lot more eloquent and most certainly more gentle, but I've carried that with me ever since.  It only takes a very small amount of imagination to visit the Tragic, the Impossible, the Too Hard. But one of the wonders of this life is how hidden the I Had No Idea! and This Is Amazing! are.  Sometimes we can do some hoping and some wondering, but those moments are nowhere near as vivid or accurate as our dark certainties.

The last few days have provided ample opportunity to visit the rooms where the Dark Stuff is packed. But I am working hard to remember that those aren't the only rooms in this house.  Some of these rooms hold Regular Normal things and probably boxes and boxes of The Mundane.  And there is every possibility that one or two may be hiding some Sweetness or Lovely.  I'm not going to try to imagine their contents exactly, but I'm going to believe that they will make themselves known in the days and weeks ahead.

I'll let you know what we find.