... Sincerely, Rene Ashley Watson

Maybe taking longer to get over someone isn’t a sign of weakness, maybe it shows that you cared more, loved more, risked more, and weren’t too afraid to let yourself feel something real…

And something about the pain of getting over your first love isn’t just about them, it isn’t just about how much you love or loved them, but it’s also that loss of love: the process of falling out of love for the first time…a brand new feeling felt in such a heavy way…Someone might think they are prepared to experience falling in love, but are they ready to experience falling out of love? Because that does something to a person…

A little piece of you is forever left lingering, a little piece of you and it’s like it’s stuck in some abandon house: empty with no life there, just memories; some good, some bad, some amazing, and some devastating…But all of them attached ever-so-closely to your heart strings and at any given moment in time something- a sound, a sight, a smell,… anything really- can capture your attention and bring it all back.

But in the end, no matter how wonderful, comforting, or lovley that house of memories may seem, the reality is that it’s still just an empty house and there really isn’t anything wonderful, comforting, or lovley about it anymore.

And just like an abandon house, if you continue to visit, the pathway will remain clear and open; dust and cobwebs won’t settle or form…It’s only natural you’ll continue visiting: it’s so easy, convenient, and oh-so tempting…So let it sit for a while; let trees, vines, and plants overgrow; let the pathway become a little more obstructed; let the dust settle and the cobwebs form. Don’t voluntarily visit these memories.

Now don’t be mistaken…You will at times in your life find yourself visiting this house again. Just be sure to keep the visits short, and leave the things inside and around the house alone- do not clear the path or the clean the house while you’re there- no matter how tempting it may be because, if you do, you might find yourself locked in…And someone can’t live their lives isolated from reality in a house of old memories, incapable of making any new ones.

You’ll find that over time, the house will become less and less hospitable, less and less inviting.

This lasting impression left upon a person isn’t something to take lightly…Because how many pieces of yourself can you leave behind in abandon houses? But this also shouldn’t keep you from letting yourself fall for someone, it shouldn’t keep you from putting all of yourself, everything, on the line for someone…Because as painful and dangerous as it can be to care and love too much, I believe it is far worse to care and love too little. Just choose wisely whom you decide to build your houses with.