"I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights."
- Maya Angelou
You will meet someone who sees a rainy day as a waste and a reason to complain. This is the person you are disgusted by at the airport counter, yelling at berating the innocent girl standing behind the counter who clearly had nothing to do with his luggage being lost. He will throw a fit over tangled Christmas lights, and probably hate Christmas decorations in general because he is so quick to get his tinsel in a tangle. He is so inconceivably attractive because you feel that he can be a "project", someone you can fix. "He just needs someone to see the beauty inside, someone to make him see the good in the world around him instead of only the negative," you find yourself thinking. Stop. Stop thinking, stop right there. Collect yourself, take a deep breath, and run as fast as you can in the other direction. He can't love you the way you want him to, because he will never see the beauty in you. All he will ever see are the negatives, the flaws, the half-empty glass. This knowledge will not make it any easier to move on because chances are he will be chasing after you, tangled Christmas lights in hand, yelling about how it is all your fault you didn't put them back on the reel. And you know what? Maybe you didn't put them back on the reel. And that's okay. Do not let him belittle you, your dreams, your goals, your ambitions. Put some red lipstick and high heels on, walk right on out that door, and never look back.
You will stumble across someone who could never have lost luggage, because he never travels. This is the one who sleeps away a rainy day because, "What else am I going to do?" Tangled Christmas lights? Forget it. He'd have to put down the Xbox controller long enough. But he has so much "potential". I hate to have to be the bearer of bad news, but potential is bullshit if there is nothing to back it up. You will not inspire him to get off his butt and get it in gear. If his idea of a "romantic date" is some McDonalds and the new Call of Duty? Climb the stairs of his parents' basement, be sure to thank them for having you on the way out, and feel free to slam the door behind you on the way out. You want to be a teacher, a lawyer, a doctor, a real estate agent someday. Why let yourself be dragged down by someone who has no ambitions for life? You owe it to yourself to set your standards higher than that. You deserve someone who will be a mover and a shaker, at least enough to move and shake himself into some dress clothes and out of his parents' house.
You'll be surprised by someone who can laugh over tangled Christmas lights, because it is an excuse to make a memory with you. He will understand that lost luggage is replaceable, but will have the foresight to pack his valuables in a carry-on. Rainy days though, those are his favorite. Who doesn't love kissing and dancing in the rain? Even if he is a freak who doesn't, he'll do it anyway - because he knows you love it. Maybe he doesn't have his life completely together, but let's be honest, who does? If he wants to be a better person for you, don't let him go. This one will have ambition, drive, a positive outlook on life, and if you're really lucky, a smile that can melt your heart when the corners even just begin to turn upwards. He will give you the greatest gifts you've ever received. No, I don't mean he will buy you a trip to the stars, diamond earrings, or an island in the sun. (But if he does, be sure to thank him, of course). He will give you his heart, his love - everything he has to offer. Just remember that because he can laugh off tangled Christmas lights, and deal with a new wardrobe, and even dance in the rain, it doesn't mean he's perfect. None of us are.
You can tell a lot about a person by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. You can try to fix the relationship full of toxicity with kind words and loving gestures. You can work your hardest to inspire the lazy bum (or scum-sucking pig from hell, in the words of my greatest mentor). You can spend every day of your life trying to do things for other people, to no avail. Whatever helps you sleep at night. But if it doesn't?
You can spend your days deciding how you would deal with a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas lights. Then, and only then, can you find someone who deals with them just the way you do. Someone who can give you the greatest gift of all - his heart.
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