In the 1989 movie Parenthood with Steve Martin there is a scene that goes like this:
[Gil has been complaining about his complicated life; Grandma wanders into the room] Grandma : You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster. Gil : Oh? Grandma : Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride! Gil : What a great story. Grandma : I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it.
Later in the movie Gil and his wife are at a school performance of one of their small children and so many things are going wrong and there is complete chaos, but Gil remembers what Grandma said about the rollercoaster, he looks around and realizes how much love he has for his family, and just imagines a rollercoaster ride. Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride!
Over the course of the last few days, I went through an extreme series of ups and downs that had me reeling. I had got my hopes up so high in a situation, let myself feel love and joy and then realized it just was not what I thought and would not work for me. Low points are going to happen but let yourself feel the highs life has to offer too. Don't be afraid to take a leap once in a while. The highs don't feel nearly as high without experiencing the lows. This morning, although my heart broke a little over the weekend, and I may have caused someone else's heart to break a little when I realized it wouldn't work, I will never regret it, I am glad I experienced it all, and I woke up with hope again! Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride!
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