Boiling Point

“Just take this song and you’ll never feel left all alone,” Home Sweet Home, Motley Crue

The problem with bottling everything in is that sometimes you blow. Sometimes you just lose it and anyone unfortunate enough to be near you will get the worst of it. This happened to me today. For some reason I just had enough and my best friend was the recipient of my meanness. I snapped and got an attitude with her for no other reason than I reached my boiling point. I unloaded on her about everything and sadly, none of it was because of her.

Of all the things I snapped about, not once was she the culprit. She is the one that never demands anything from me. The one that is just happy to see me when she can. The one that never expects me to work around her schedule. The one who gives me her shoulder when needed. The one that is just there no matter what.

The surprising part — she didn’t get mad. She didn’t snap back, she didn’t call me an asshole (it would have been deserved). She didn’t walk away. She listened. She let me go off about this and that and she didn’t say a word. She demonstrated in that moment how all friends should be and I am forever thankful for that. The world could take a lesson from her. Later in the day when I apologized, she accepted it, and all was good. She reminded me she is always there to listen and won’t get mad, it is what best friends do.

So how do I prevent this episode from happening again while remaining Laura Bush? The obvious answer is to let it out more often. But that is much easier said than done. I have been this way for as long as I can remember, and I can’t change overnight. I am trying, but it is difficult. So what is the next answer? I don’t know.

I am blessed to have two best friends (my sister not included). One lives a couple states away, and one lives about 15 miles from me. And the Laura Bush thing to do would be to open up to them more and prevent it from boiling over. These two I trust more than anyone, they will listen and maybe prevent the ugliness of today. So I made a phone date with one, and a television date with the other this week.

So I must remember to talk and share. I must remember to not let it get bad. I must remember to ask, what would Laura Bush do?  

Author’s note: The lyrics to this song are both haunting and beautiful. When I hear this song I stop for a moment and just listen. I forget the world and let the ballad wash over me. It will always be a favorite of mine.