Fate's Funny Sense of Ha Ha

This time last year, I was going about my own business, aware of something but refusing to pay attention to it because I thought it would simply complicate my life more than was necessary. I'm not a big fan of messy, and this had messy written all over it. Fast forward several months and messy got harder to ignore, but I turned a blind eye, refusing to acknowledge its existence, glaring at it when it refused to sit quietly in the dark corner where I had put it.

And just when I thought I had won the battle, Fate steps in and shines a spotlight. A blinding, not going to be ignored, ain't nothing you can do about it, spotlight. I reeled back, tried to jump out of its way. I dodged. I weaved. But it was relentless. Finally it had me backed into the corner and I was left with a choice - accept it, or run screaming into the distance.

Naturally my first inclination was to run screaming into the distance. But luckily, I've never been that great at retreat. And while I'm weighing my options I take a look at this thing. I realize it has the potential to be something great. Amazing even. In fact, looking at it up close and personal, I realize this thing could be exactly what I had been waiting for all along, and not nearly as messy as I had originally thought.

I give it a few pokes, peer cautiously under the hood, read the fine print. Hmm. No hidden booby traps. No unwanted loop holes in the fine print. Looks and feels like pretty solid construction. I tentatively step out from the corner and take an even closer look. I let it wrap around me. I realize I like it here. I realize I want to stay.

A year ago, if you had told me what Fate had in store, I would have laughed and said you were crazy. But it seems, in the end, Fate has had the last laugh. And the best thing is, I get to laugh along with it.