Love, Hope, and Cocolate

During the course of our lives, we learn three things.

One, everything changes. People change, places change, circumstances change. All we can do is be true to ourselves.

Two, there will always be at least one thing unpleasant in our life. There is nothing that anyone can do about it so we may as well accept it.

Three, chocolate solves just about any problem.

As a two year old, I learned these rather quickly. In one day. One moment everything seemed fine. The next I found that I had been stung by a bee. Crying, I ran to my mother.

Gingerly, she kissed my face and then handed me a chocolate kiss. It wasn't a whole lot of chocolate, but it was just enough to make everything alright again.

Now, seventeen years later, I am learning these lessons all over again.

As my friends and I go off to college, I see great transformations taking place. As I learn about their pasts, I see how far they have come. They have truly changed for good.

But loosing them, if only through distance, is hard. Painful. And loosing family is even harder.

The only things that help with the pain are: love, hope, and chocolate.