Because it's sometimes nice for someone else to tell you how it is.

One of my favorites, Kahlil Gibran, once said, "If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were."

Why do I like this, you ask? Because it has some logistics attached to it. No real room for interpretation here. Someone shows up, or they don't. They get on that plane, or they don't. They fight for you, or they don't. They come back, or they don't.

Although some may think of That Girl Abbey as a true Romantic, I appreciate some rules. I appreciate some logic, some black and white among the gray, some lines in the sand.

Do we believe this is true, though?
No one belongs to you if they don't always belong to you?

This part makes me a bit sad. Logistics in life are always the real clincher. How many people walk around thinking, "If I had only gotten that job" or "If I had only accepted that school" or "If I had only met her earlier" or "If I had only been there fifteen minutes before." Lifes tragedies and blessings occur in fleeting moments. And to make matters worse, we hardly ever know their importance until long after the fact.

With this one life to live, we have only one opportunity to lead an inspired, meaningful, thrilling existence. That's it.

If we don't live it up this time, when will we? If we don't become what and who we want, when will we? If we don't assemble that crucial cast of characters to walk through it with us, when will we?

If I had ten lives to live, I know how I would spend several of them.

In one I would live in Bath, England among the sheep and the libraries. I would write and walk and live a lovely eclectic life full of interesting people and lovers.

In another I would be a high-powered leader in Washington, D.C. I'd go to bed every night on a politico high, knowing that I did everything in my power that day to shake it up.

In another I would be a world class musician. I would have torrid love affairs with international conductors. I would carry an instrument case in and out of airports and people would say, "Is that her? The world class musician? I must go buy tickets!"

In another I would be an elementary school principal and a mommy in the middle of Ohio.

In another I think I would work in a Hawaiian hotel. I would enjoy the charming camaraderie with my co-workers and whenever we weren't working, we'd be on the beach, drinking, exploring, and playing. In my free time, I'd write a novel on my hammock. The novel would be about funny people who visit a Hawaiian hotel to get away from their problems. The novel would never be finished, because that wouldn't be the point.

In another I would be doing what I'm doing.

In another I would be a college English professor. I would wear a bit of velvet in every outfit and always smell like chalk.

In another I would play professional baseball. I'd spend the off season volunteering and starting global initiatives to help kids.

In another I would dance. I would always wear pink tights and leotards and look fantastic. Every time my husband saw me on stage he'd want to jump me.

In another I think I would own a children's book store like The Little Shop Around the Corner in You've Got Mail. I would live a small, simple life in the City and adore the little faces that would come to visit me and my puppets each day.

But, I don't have ten lives, and neither do you. So, I'll stay here for now, and live this one in the absolute most joyful, intense, risky, creative, and love-filled way I know how.
That's all I can do, and that's plenty for now.