Music and Pterodactyls: An Almost Love Story

Oh hey, thanks for coming over. I thought I was going to have to spend this dumb holiday by myself watching some lame rom-com on network television and eating my feelings. So, legit, thanks for stopping by and saving me from that. You can throw your coat over the back of that chair if you want. We can sit out in the living room, then? Cool, okay, yeah, hang on a sec, I’ll put some coffee on for us. This conversation could be a little while.

Secretly, Reader, I am an emotional creature. If you were to see me, you’d say “no, not that girl! She’s a stoic badass. Stoic badasses don’t have emotions!” Please indulge me, dear Reader, as I tell you some tales of love on this fine “holiday” (but definitely not saturated in emotion; I still have my “stoic badass” image to uphold).

For instance, one summer I sculpted two pterodactyls out of homemade rice crispy treats to use as a gesture of apology for someone I once loved. I parked my car in front of their house, waiting for said individual to return from work. No sooner did they exit their car, did I leap out of mine, and all of the words I’d rehearsed in my head ran together at once when I said:       

“I'MSORRYFORBEINGSTUPIDWILLYOUPLEASETAKEMEBACKIMADEYOUPTERODACTYLS!”

The rice-crispy pterodactyls before their ill-fated journey.

The look I received was a mix of pity, amusement, and raw bewilderment. This was clearly not one of my more “put together” moments.

However, it was just not meant to be. My pterodactyls had begun to melt in the hot summer sun like my composure; their chocolate chip eyes streaming like my own. I drove back across town, pulled into the back lot of an abandoned grocery store, and cried into the steering wheel. It was like I was filming a Lifetime movie.

My life is never this dramatic.

Oh, coffee’s ready. Cream & sugar?

I mean, you’ve been there, haven’t you, Reader? You’ve found yourself doing something so out-of-your-mind crazy for someone you’ve loved? It’s just me? Oh, c’mon. Seriously. You’ve been there, right? You try to do something that is as extraordinary as that person makes you feel, and that much emotion packed into a gesture, well it’s a risk, and I venture to say you’ve made many a pterodactyl-crispy-sculpture in your day that’s been left crying in the sun. But you’ve been loved too, I bet; no—cherished. You’ve been loved beyond recognition—it’s left it’s indelible mark on you, I can see it in the way you’ve stopped reading and started thinking about where love’s taken you, and what it’s left you with.

It’s a transformation; a metamorphosis. Even when you think love’s gone, it’s given you so much more than you realize. All of the intangibles language tries to describe, but it’s a feeling more than anything. I could go on, but you already know what I mean. That’s why you’re still reading.

*Cough*, Sorry, I said I wouldn’t let this get saturated in emotion. Whoo. Whoo, hoo, hoo. Okay. Bring it back. Brrring it back. Anyway.

Yet, along the spectrum of emotions I do manage to recognize, there’s some I don’t know what to do with. There’s still a box in the corner of my room at home containing the detritus of a love once shared. I suppose we’ve all got boxes somewhere, if not in our rooms, then in our heads. Don’t tell anyone I ever experience feelings about anything ever. I’d lose my hipster credibility.

Perhaps I would donate the items in the (literal) box to the Museum of Broken Relationships. Hmm, I would probably donate the Bop-It XT. 

Hours of fun...or frustration?

It was all fun and games until I was frustrated out of my mind, and I couldn’t get it to stop shouting imperatives at me.

For anyone who has ever slow danced in an empty street to the music inside your head, or felt like there could be a soundtrack to all of the moments that took your breath away (or made you feel like dry heaving, or punching someone), here are some songs for this holiday I have a love/hate relationship with.

 Ughh, okay guys, this is my absolute favorite cover by New Found Glory. HOWEVER, I do apologize that this is the only video I could find, and I am sorry for all the people making out. Guess I should've saw that coming. #logic #planbetter

This video is beautiful, artsy, and so creative. Not the official vid for this song, but still wonderful.

"This is a song for the one that I love. I haven't met them yet. But, I'm quietly confident." An Horse Forever.

I weep when I hear this song because of how beautiful it is. Honest. #notafraid.

 "You'll be loved you'll be loved
Like you never have known
The memories of me
Will seem more like bad dreams
Just a series of blurs
Like I never occurred
Someday you will be loved..." 

And a more cheerful one...

I used to put this song on and walk around campus, just to think things over. 

Drew Tabor is precious and talented. A friend showed me this gem. I can actually sing along to this one! 

 Classic.

 "In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die. Where you invest your love, you invest your life."

 Seriously, read the lyrics to this song. All the awards. Forever.

 One of my favorites: 

If you have a valentine: you’re lucky to have met them and have them in your life to share this day with. If you’re flying solo, just remember that right now, someone you haven’t met is out there wondering what it would be like to meet someone like you. Take heart in that. 

Cheers! 

--L.V.