A bridge over troubled waters

Rains come and bring puddles, like the holes that bullets leave to prove they were there. The puddles we walk through become dirty and grey. Some puddles catch leaves, some puddles catch cold and pass it to the kids who jump in the center and turn the puddles into waves. Some puddles are deep and stay for weeks. They watch us leave our homes and they watch us fill our lives with things that don’t matter, and some that do matter. Other puddles are shallow, and shrink until you could mistake them for a teardrop. Some puddles are good for staring into, because puddles never make it about themselves. When you stare into a puddle, they point you back to yourself. They show you the smile you hate or the nice hair day you’re having. But the thing about puddles is that…they never stick around. The sun comes out, the ground heats up, and the puddles disappear slowly. And one day you’ll come outside and you’ll look for the puddle, but it will be gone. 

My problems most always leave something to remind me that they were there, like a puddle reminds us it has rained. My problems dirty my life and my eyes and my relationships. Some problems last so long, you begin to think you’ll wake up everyday drowning in it. Some problems are easy to fix, so long as you really know what the problem is to begin with. Some problems show you who you are. They show you’re selfish and weak, or they show you are resilient and you will get through it. But problems can never last forever. They may not leave quickly or painlessly, but they must go at some point. Not that that brief statement helps when you feel like your problem has suddenly grown teeth and is consuming you little by little. But life doesn’t stop for me or you or the President of the United States. Sometimes that makes life a savior. Sometimes that makes life a bitch. So I guess what I mean to say is not something positive and encouraging to make you think that everything will turn out perfect in the end, but more to remind myself that this is how it works. Rains come and bring puddle problems and the sun takes them away and then the rain brings back my puddle problems and the sun dries them up and then it rains and here come my puddle problems and then one day it’s like they never existed and then soon they’re back again when the clouds roll in and then they’re gone again and then…