-Secondhand Serenade lyrics
Dear you,
Eight months back. I was this wandering, restless kid in desperate need of some sort of direction. I hated commitment. I hated decisions. I was really pretty pathetic. I was unsure of my past; I was bolting from the present; I was paralyzed by the future. Guess you could say I was some skittish, hipster, seventeen-year-old who spent reality trying to get out of it.
And then there were your parents, seated in a little booth in the back corner, and I loved seeing them in the store every afternoon. The authenticity in your dad's smile, the wit in his jokes; the familiarity in your mom's manner, and the warmth they exuded. It was providence when I ran into them while eating Sunday lunch with my family. It was providence when my mother interviewed you at Chick-fil-A. It was providence when I got a phone call from my mother while I out of town, as she gushed about your family's solid theological foundation. And you. She gushed about you.
"And then they have a son, and he's seventeen, and he's so sarcastic. Like he's almost rude. You guys would get along great."
What can I say. She wasn't wrong.
Eight months forward, I'm right smack in the middle of the greatest adventure of my life. I've actually fallen in love. It's like a whole other world. And to a certain degree, of course it is. Within any person is an entire new world, with sights to see, a soul to learn, a mind to explore, a heart to love, a warm body to hold close. But with you, it's something else. You're a new world, and you're colliding with my world, and you're a twist in my story that I will never get over.
I know I don't say it much. But I really am utterly enamored with every part of you.
My only fear is that I will never have the capability to express the depths of it. I'm not used to loving something so much that I can't express it. And yet sometimes I pause and see something of inexpressible value standing before me. And it's you. And I never fail to be overwhelmed. I don't know how to communicate that, really. All I know is that I have the found the one that I was made to love. I am most conscious of that fact every time I'm with you.
You know what, I'm sorry to be this overflowing mess of a cheese fondue session here. I know it's pretty cheesy. But it's only cheesy if it's meaningless or ill-timed. And in this case, the brevity of life is enough to convince me that if I love you, I shouldn't wait to let you know.
It's sobering to realize that one day we'll be old. Our memories will fade. Our bodies will wither and our minds will disintegrate. Hopefully by that time, we'll be swept up with the nearness of eternity with our Maker and won't feel the pain of not remembering each other. But until then, I plan to soak up every moment with my best friend. Taking nothing for granted. Not taking you for granted, ever. Reminding you that even when I snap, even when I'm quiet: I don't want to go back to how it was without you, and I have not forgotten the infinite collection of things I love about you.
I love your cinematic memory. I love how you think, and the things you think about. I love your enormous capacity to love. I love how laid-back you are. I need that. I love how different you are from me, and yet how similar. I love how introspective you are, and how tolerant you are of my endless introspection. I love that you have the courage (or extroversion) to say what I'm only thinking. I love brainstorming with you. I love travelling with you. I love all the experiences we've known together, from our 18th birthdays to decorating downtown for Christmas to IKEA to seeing your face at the end of a 14-hour shift to- honestly, everything. I love just sitting beside you in silence, me working on my novel and you working on your wikipages and everything else under the sun.
With your twenty-seven tabs open.
I just love your companionship, in every way. I love knowing you, and that you have somehow chosen me as the one to know you, love you, and be your companion. I'll never get over the gravity of that, being chosen by you, everyday. I know it isn't a simple thing, to love a human being. But you're doing it, everyday, and I still haven't gotten over that.
I hope I never will.
Eight months back. I was this wandering, restless kid in desperate need of some sort of direction. I hated commitment. I hated decisions. I was really pretty pathetic. I was unsure of my past; I was bolting from the present; I was paralyzed by the future. Guess you could say I was some skittish, hipster, seventeen-year-old who spent reality trying to get out of it.
And then there were your parents, seated in a little booth in the back corner, and I loved seeing them in the store every afternoon. The authenticity in your dad's smile, the wit in his jokes; the familiarity in your mom's manner, and the warmth they exuded. It was providence when I ran into them while eating Sunday lunch with my family. It was providence when my mother interviewed you at Chick-fil-A. It was providence when I got a phone call from my mother while I out of town, as she gushed about your family's solid theological foundation. And you. She gushed about you.
"And then they have a son, and he's seventeen, and he's so sarcastic. Like he's almost rude. You guys would get along great."
What can I say. She wasn't wrong.
Eight months forward, I'm right smack in the middle of the greatest adventure of my life. I've actually fallen in love. It's like a whole other world. And to a certain degree, of course it is. Within any person is an entire new world, with sights to see, a soul to learn, a mind to explore, a heart to love, a warm body to hold close. But with you, it's something else. You're a new world, and you're colliding with my world, and you're a twist in my story that I will never get over.
I know I don't say it much. But I really am utterly enamored with every part of you.
My only fear is that I will never have the capability to express the depths of it. I'm not used to loving something so much that I can't express it. And yet sometimes I pause and see something of inexpressible value standing before me. And it's you. And I never fail to be overwhelmed. I don't know how to communicate that, really. All I know is that I have the found the one that I was made to love. I am most conscious of that fact every time I'm with you.
You know what, I'm sorry to be this overflowing mess of a cheese fondue session here. I know it's pretty cheesy. But it's only cheesy if it's meaningless or ill-timed. And in this case, the brevity of life is enough to convince me that if I love you, I shouldn't wait to let you know.
It's sobering to realize that one day we'll be old. Our memories will fade. Our bodies will wither and our minds will disintegrate. Hopefully by that time, we'll be swept up with the nearness of eternity with our Maker and won't feel the pain of not remembering each other. But until then, I plan to soak up every moment with my best friend. Taking nothing for granted. Not taking you for granted, ever. Reminding you that even when I snap, even when I'm quiet: I don't want to go back to how it was without you, and I have not forgotten the infinite collection of things I love about you.
I love your cinematic memory. I love how you think, and the things you think about. I love your enormous capacity to love. I love how laid-back you are. I need that. I love how different you are from me, and yet how similar. I love how introspective you are, and how tolerant you are of my endless introspection. I love that you have the courage (or extroversion) to say what I'm only thinking. I love brainstorming with you. I love travelling with you. I love all the experiences we've known together, from our 18th birthdays to decorating downtown for Christmas to IKEA to seeing your face at the end of a 14-hour shift to- honestly, everything. I love just sitting beside you in silence, me working on my novel and you working on your wikipages and everything else under the sun.
With your twenty-seven tabs open.
I just love your companionship, in every way. I love knowing you, and that you have somehow chosen me as the one to know you, love you, and be your companion. I'll never get over the gravity of that, being chosen by you, everyday. I know it isn't a simple thing, to love a human being. But you're doing it, everyday, and I still haven't gotten over that.
I hope I never will.
_
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