watching the lessons unfold.

Love is a dance; a song that won't dare to be sung. It's impossible to put all the feelings in a single note. Splay out the sheet music and begin the orchestra.

My arms were wrapped around you and I was unaware of what I was beginning, what new path was about to be walked. You opened my eyes and let the beauty in. Now we're here, starting to realize what we're holding. So close. So far away. So exciting and new. We're frozen, speechless, and wondering what will happen next. I had a feeling this was going to lead somewhere amazing. My eyes wouldn't leave your smile, your eyes, your face, your hair, your hands, your body; you. My feet wouldn't touch the ground to walk away. My keys wouldn't go in the ignition right. Driving away, I felt the urge to push down on the break. Just one more smile, one more thought, one more kiss. Curfew was calling my name but I wanted to keep that moment, bottle it up and hide it away. Somewhere far where time doesn't matter anymore and it's just this moment, right here and now.

We talked about families and friends, entered into another person's world. I thought those doors were closed for me yet here you are, opening my mind and heart as easily as if you had the right key. You were hiding it, waiting for me.

Your head is on my stomach and we're in the bliss of everything; every touch, every kiss, every expression, every word.

I've been talking to my grandparents, dad, and mom again. I tried to push them all away but they push right back and want to stay and that's one good thing I have. I'm going to make this cloud above me disappear and be gone. I can feel a punch inside my heartbeat on the floor. Restarting the engine; let's get going.

The 19th comes so soon every month and I have the selfishness of not being strong enough. My father tells me to try to be responsible. My mother loves me but not the way he does. She looks out for me. She's not afraid to tell me when she thinks I'm being foolish. A mothers job never really stops, I've come to realize. Once you make that commitment, it's a 24/7 job for the rest of your life. Not a job necessarily but definitely something that takes hard work, long hours, and dedication. You have to know true love before you can raise a human being.

A little album with photographs from a life before the one she leads now used to sit in her office bookshelf. A moment when she loved to kiss someone else. She knew the truth about love and how no matter how true, sometimes the pages get torn or the entire sheet music gets tossed in a fire. She felt her heart tear and rip and watched it get mended over again when she opened herself to a new love. The endless cycle of sifting through everyone who could ever hurt you yet finding the one who is always worth fighting for. Because when they hurt you, you know it's because you care, there's something there. There's that string connecting your hearts and it's being tested. Everyone will hurt you in one way or another if you love them. It's a part of growing and experiencing different feelings, different emotions. You just have to find the right person to go on that journey with. Whether the road be paved or tattered, know that you will travel it only with the ones who care the most by your side, through it all.

We are each given a road. It's up to us as to who travels it with us.