Where We Belong

by Emily Giffin

It was April Fools’ Day and for a second my mom thought it was a joke,

When it is actually April 1st…

So I guess what I’m trying to say is that life is fast. And it keeps speeding up. Sometimes I lose track of the season—or even the year. And we just have to make the best of it all. Our choices. Our fleeting moments together.”

Even if we no longer have much in common, we would have always had the past, which, in some ways, is just as important as the present or future. It is where we come from, what makes us who we are.

“Because Marian was the love of my life. For a long time. And that’s the kind of information you share when you’re young and stupid and hoping that you’re in something that is going to be even bigger and better than what you once lost. It’s the kind of shit you waste your time thinking about. Lemme tell you—it does no good. Remember that, okay? Things are what they are and there’s no point dwelling in the past or wondering what could have been.”

I feel a sudden wave of homesickness, but not the kind that makes you sad. The kind that reminds you of who you are and where you come from.

It’s about wanting something real—even if it’s messy and complicated.