It took three phone calls before I decided to call Christopher back. His mom Jane and my mom had been conspiring for ages about setting the two of us up. He was fresh out the army, and I was over men. A friend of mine at work convinced me to pick up the phone and give Christopher a shot. People enter your life for a variety of reasons…Christopher and I were instantly friends, rapidly became partners, and fell head over heels in love with each other. I remember going back to South Carolina in early August and dozens of people came up to me and said “Katie you are glowing, holy hell California did you good!”, not realizing that the undeniable glow they were witnessing was ignited by the spectacular lightness of being that Christopher and I had brought into each others lives. I can still remember back in September, I had come home for a long weekend and my plane was running late, Christopher had been standing at the bottom of the escalator with a bouquet of roses, 6 peach, one red and one yellow wrapped up in butcher paper with twine (my personal favorite). He had been chatting with a group of women who wanted to know who he was waiting for, who the flowers were for, and he shared with them that he was picking up the girl he had waited his whole life for. As we sat in the car before leaving LAX, he paused to share with me the significance of the rose colors, “Katie the red is to symbolize my love and passion for you, the yellow is because first and foremost you are my best friend, and the peach is all about celebrating you” (peach have long been my favorite). He gave me a shirt that night which said SAME SAME on the front and BUT DIFFERENT on the back, because as we became friends we shared our struggles, our passions, our stories, which were just that “SAME SAME, BUT DIFFERENT”. Later that weekend, we were sitting on my brother’s porch in Huntington Beach and with tears in his eyes and he told me, “Katie I love you for loving me for exactly who I am. When you met me I had no car, no phone, no job, and no place to live, and you loved me without reservation”. Christopher and I were magnetically, electrifyingly, magically attracted to each others souls, and the love story of us was one that others lived vicariously through. We spent the last 6 months sharing our lives with each other, reminding each other that true unconditional love does exist and that we are not alone in this mixed up-topsy-turvy Alice in Wonderland-thing called life. I can remember every single spectacular moment I spent with Chris, whether diving for prehistoric shark teeth in South Carolina, sitting in the hot springs in Bridgeport in awe of the vastness of the night sky littered with stars, free diving in Grand Turk, where I collected so many conch shells, sticking them in every inch of my bathing suit that Christopher said “Holy crap Katie, how the heck did you swim back with all of those!” I later found out, some still had animals inside and joked with Christopher on the cruise, that one of them had crawled out of the closet and had taken residence under his side of the bed. Christopher told me in late summer, that I was his curve ball and that he felt so lucky to have caught me or been caught by me. Christopher was in turn my curve ball, an unexpected, spectacular gift that walked into my life, and for that…I will be forever changed. He taught me to love myself and to celebrate the parts of me that inspire those around me. Christopher taught me love without reservation, never apologize for who I am, to remove myself from toxic situations, to never do a job I don’t love…Christopher had a spectacular light that lit up my world, he had talents that most of us wish we could have, yet his humility was astounding. Christopher was gentle, loving, kind, and constantly looking up to see whom he could help. I told my dad over Christmas break, that Christopher was the most thoughtful man I have ever met in my life. The gifts that Christopher offered the world were undeniable and extraordinary…he was a rare beauty with perfect grace. The loss of the love of my life has ravaged my soul and truly broken my heart, but I would not give up one single spectacular moment that I shared with Christopher as his partner, his soul mate, his friend. The last night I spent with Christopher in his condo in Newport, I laid my head on his lap and he brushed my hair and shared with me thousands of photos documenting the spectacular adventure that was his life, his story. When he was done, he thanked me and said “thank you for taking the time to listen to my story”. What he didn’t realize and is evidenced by the photos and stories shared on this page, is that all of those whose lives he touched, were in awe of his story, anticipating his next move, and intricately woven into the framework of his life. I think that Christopher did not realize the impact he had made on the world and how many peoples lives he had touched. I told him recently that his life, his story…it matters, that he matters, that he has significantly impacted the lives of those who love him. Christopher walked into my life for a reason…and for that I am forever changed…
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 07:08:20 +0000
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