Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end

After a two and a half year relationship, Nathan and I decided to sort of walk our separate ways. The announcement may not come as a huge shock to many of you, as many of you have been asking Nate and me recently about how on earth we plan to work things out with me wanting to be here in Ossian, and him wanting to be in Indianapolis for a while–and then who-knows-where after that.

This is one of the kindest, gentlest finales to any relationship I’ve ever had, and Nathan and I are–and will remain–best friends, and certainly shall remain devoted members of THE FAB FOUR.

I’d heard people talk about “growing apart” and never fully understood it, but I think that’s exactly what happened. We started law school as perfect for one another as a couple; we just finished law school as more perfect as best friends. And how can I be upset about that? If there’s one thing I know for sure about life, it’s that good friends are hard to find, and I’d never, ever bemoan a close friendship.

True, it’s not the ending I envisioned a couple years ago (frankly, I imagined then that perhaps I’d be planning a wedding this summer). But I think it’s a good ending for both Nathan and myself; we still care deeply for one another, wish each other all the best life has to offer, and will definitely still hang out together whenever we’re in the same city together.

This “separation” (and I hate to even use that word because we’re not separating, really–we’re just redefining our relationship from “a couple” to “a couple of best friends”) gives us each the opportunity to fully embrace our budding careers in whatever way we feel is best for us, and we don’t have to worry that the direction one of us chooses will hold back the other one in any way. And who knows… maybe five or ten years down the road, our paths will cross again. Maybe not. I guess that’s all part of what Gilda Radner referred to as this life’s “delicious ambiguity.”

Best friends, Fab Four Forevermore, and three great years together. No regrets, only fond memories, and best wishes for the future.