Driving home from an all day volleyball tournament had me driving and drifting (my mind-not my car!). Six hours of whistles and cheering left my daughters asleep and me enjoying the music and my thoughts.

The lyrics to Taylor Swift’s new song, All of the Girls You Loved Before had a line where I ended up processing and reminiscing for a good twenty miles. “Teenage love taught you there’s good in goodbye.” It brought me back to all the loves I had from the ages of 13 to 19 which was approximately one. A first love. An intense love. An unforgettable love. Memories came flooding back; the good made me smile and the bad made me wince.

The irony of this line is no one understands the good in goodbyes until the goodbye is bye bye and those affected have moved on. It’s entirely improbable anyone let alone a teenager can see the beauty in the breakup right away. I don’t think some adults process the concept very well.

I think the lyric vibrates with me because while I wanted that relationship to last, the farther I am from it, the more relieved I am it ended. I am proud of the two of us for letting go when we were consumed with love but not destined for a happily ever after.

There’s your slice today…