So Maisie grew out her roots and had her dyed auburn hair cut into a closely cropped pixie, now snowy white. She packed up her life and hired movers, made arrangements for a place to stay - and made the trek from Texas to Montana.
She was a stranger in town, knew absolutely no one - and had no idea where to go from there. She lived on savings, spent a lot of time at the library, going for walks to get to know the town. Then one day she spotted an ad in the paper, looking for a "managing partner" for a restaurant. She'd had some food industry experience, and had nothing else to do, so she checked it out. They were really looking for someone to run the day-to-day operations of the restaurant, and so she jumped at the chance when they offered her the job.
She fell in love with her job (she never knew what each day would bring - sometimes she managed, sometimes she waitressed, cooked, washed dishes...but she loved the variety) and the people of the town, finally truly happy, free from her ex-husband and with no desire for a new relationship. Her independence was the most important thing in the world to her - until it wasn't.
Six months in to her new job, the town got hit by a major snowstorm. Maisie lived just a couple of blocks from the cafe, so she decided to walk over. Business was dead - until HE came in. 6'4, silvery gray hair, blue eyes that sparkled with -- was it humor? Mischief? Both? (It is both.) He sat down at the counter and studied his menu. He ordered breakfast and then said "How 'bout a slice of pie while I wait for my food?" And she knew. She just KNEW. Here was a man who not only would eat pie at breakfast time - but would eat dessert first. Something about that, about him and the way he carried himself, just about knocked her off her feet, as she says. And she knew she would love him. He asked her out before he left the cafe that day - and six months after that, they were married.
Joe and Maisie ended up moving to the city I live in (Joe has family here), and Maisie and I have been friends for almost 10 years. She invited me 'round for tea last weekend, and somewhere in the course of conversation (Maisie is one of those people that you just fall in love with, and can talk about anything with her) I told her that I felt old. That I'd just had my 37th birthday, and had nothing to show for my life - and that I've lost hope of any of that ever changing. So she told me the story of how she met Joe. I knew that they had met in Montana, but never the whole story of how she got there or how they met.
I listened to her, thinking "yeah, sure, that's nice but...not happening." And then she said the thing that has really stuck with me, the thing that I am trying desperately to cling to while I'm down here at the bottom of this hopeless, sad pit that I find myself in. "Honey, I know you're thinking that won't happen to you. But let me tell you this: your life isn't over until it's over. Every day that you wake up is another chance that something amazing will happen. Just because it didn't happen today doesn't mean it won't happen tomorrow."
HOPE. If today is rough, remember that tomorrow is a chance to try again.
HOPE. If today is rough, remember that tomorrow is a chance to try again.
