Vanessa Sings: Yet We Still Remain: a thought on soulmates

Joshua met his soul mate last night.

Aaron Lewis is the lead singer of Staind, and is the eerily similar to my guy. For example, one would expect rocker with a certain level of success to strut onto stage, drink in hand, and immediately start working the crowd...insert curse words here. This guy kind of slowly wanders onto the stage, hot tea in hand and admits, after a few casual strums of his scratched up guitar, that he's trying to figure out where to start. I bet he's still a bajillionaire.

I have to tell you, I was slightly thrown off by the whole thing. I'm not used to attending a concert where the crowd screams out requests to the artist and in between sips of his Fuji water and drags of his Marlboro Reds, he responds, "Really?" and then plays them. In fact, most of the songs he played last night were covers. Everything from "Nutshell" by Alice in Chains to (30 seconds of) "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys. It felt more like an open mic night than a concert. I can dig it.

The performance reminded me of the summer after my freshman year in college when I would sit in the garage of my high school friend's older brother and listen to my best friends in the entire world pass around the guitar and sing anything and everything. I was blessed to meet my soul mates in high school "singin' and dancin' class" back in 2003, still referred to as SDC. We bonded over a shared love for entertaining and being unabashedly obsessed and immersed in music. Through the years, we've kept in touch and our reunions, although increasingly infrequent, feel like we've never missed a beat.

Last night, we arrived at the casino a little earlier than was necessary and had ample time to waste a few dollars at the slot machines and eat an overpriced and under-seasoned dinner at the buffet before taking our place in line at the door. I stepped out of line for a moment and when I returned, Josh was making easy conversation with the two people waiting in line behind us. They were a brother and sister duo from Iowa, and huge Staind fans. Josh and the guy bonded instantly, mostly due to the ability men have to talk football stats with complete strangers. The fact that they were both sporting Red Sox caps probably didn't hurt either.

After a couple hours, we made our way into the convention room and sat next to these people we had only just met, talking with ease as if we were old friends. While waiting for Aaron to take stage, we traded stories and jokes; she showed me pictures of her young son and expressed how much she missed him, even though she was only going to be away for the night. Not to be shown up, I boasted my mobile pics of Penny the Puggle. Bask in the cuteness. During the concert, I looked over and saw tears streaming down her face and felt a genuine connection with this woman who, until hours before, was a stranger to me.

Music is a superpower. It communicates and unites us in ways that simple spoken word cannot. To me, there is nothing in the human experience that is so intimate as music.

At evening's end, we parted ways from our new found friends without exchanging numbers or last names; there was no need. I felt closer to Joshua and was reminded of all of the reasons why I love him. Aaron Lewis has been the soundtrack to our relationship, even before it began...but that's a post for another sleepless night. For me, this night was about more than the rekindling of my adoration for my boyfriend; I was reminded of my need for the innocent expression of music. It was a lesson for my soul.

There is reason in the random. I believe this life is more fated than accidental. I am not so closed minded to think that there is only one finite plan for each of us but rather, an ever-evolving path leading us to God and to one another. At this point, I haven't the wisdom or the inclination to say whether or not my beau and I will be meant for each other in the end. All I know is that for whatever reason, our journeys have intersected in a way that is unmistakably real. I've never known a love like this.

As I sit here typing this (excessively long) post, listening to the two songs he didn't play at the concert, I have only one thought running through my head. To my dearest friend, despite an uncertain future;

...how long has it been since this story line began?

And I hope it never ends

and goes like this forever...