It’s a Heartache

Nothing but a heartache, hits you when it’s too late, hits you when you’re down….. Sometimes, you are cruising along, kinda having a crummy week but managing to stay upright, then you get that, “I have some bad news,” phone call. And, there’s a moment of silence where time stands still as you run through the possible scenarios in your mind, then the gut punch where you try to catch your breath; the very moment when your brain tries to warn your heart, “Look out below.” People react to heartbreak in different ways. Some call all their friends and cry on their shoulders, some just bury it and keep going, others just get quiet and retreat from the world. I’m in the latter category. And your close friends know, anyway. You get texts like, “You’ve been quiet. Everything okay?” I kinda mutter to myself, “No. Things are not okay. They will never be okay again,” because sometimes I can be a bit dramatic. Pretty much anyone you love can break your heart. Yep. It doesn’t matter if it’s a friend, a family member or a significant other. People will break your heart, with or without you, because people are, well….people. “I’m not loving anyone else. I’m done,” I announce. And, in the moment, I am. Down the road, I know this, too, shall pass because in life, what else is there? Venture back out there. Stay where your presence is appreciated, even in your absence. Today, I worked on a cartoon where Edward behaves totally out of character and hits everyone with a shovel, and wrote this post, knowing full well it’s a downer. Sometimes, people message me to say I’m bumming them out, that they read my stuff to laugh, but then others will tell me, “Hey, that happened to me and I feel that way, too.” Those messages, surprisingly, outnumber the first. So, hang in there! I love you guys, maybe begrudgingly, but I do. I promise the next post will be upbeat unless, well, I get another phone call……One phone call, two tylenol………