Perspective in Las Vegas

Always on the lookout for electrical outlets, I noticed an empty one next to a bench were a lone female traveller was sitting.

I asked her if she'd be so kind as to move over one seat so I could plug in.

She graciously agreed.

As I was booting up, I turned to her and noticed sadness.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

Turns out that she had come to Vegas to visit her college boyfriend for a week. They hadn't seen each other for 2 months and had 1 more month to go before school resumed at University of Pittsburgh.

As we talked, she began to cry.

Her feelings for him were evident.  It was really moving.

I tried the cliche statements of "how lucky you are" and "many people never feel this way about someone their whole lives," and "it'll be fine," but none seemed to work.

So, I said...

"In 10 years, you'll be bickering with each other about something really stupid. You'll be angry.  When that happens, remember how you felt in this moment and I'm sure you'll feel better then."

That got her laughing.

Also reminded me that it's a good practice for all of us to hearken back to those early days when we have moments of disagreement with our spouses/significant others.