i was doing some thinking earlier. about the notebook. i think about the notebook pretty routinely and i get super reminisce-y when i do. can all the ladies in the house just go ahead and agree that the notebook is completely life changing? even more life changing than the bieber movie. i really mean that. [i should probably add a spoiler alert here if you haven’t seen the notebook…]
so, whenever husband & i have a fight [which is not that often, but we’ve had our spells] i like to remember the part where noah says:
well, that’s what we do. we fight. you tell me when i’m being an arrogant son of a bitch and i tell you when you’re being a pain in the ass.
so it’s not gonna be easy. it’s gonna be really hard. and we’re gonna have to work at this every day, but i want to do that, because i want you. i want all of you, forever, you and me, every day.
gahhhh i love that part. isn’t it the best? it is, i know. everyone is crying by this part, everyone. it’s so real. but it makes me feel better. about life. i’ve always felt certain that i’d much rather feel everything passionately, the ups and the downs, than experience life with less intensity and have fewer roller coasters. feelings are important. especially in a relationship. thank you, noah calhoun, for agreeing with me on that.
[then.]
anyway, so this one time, steven and i, we broke up.
sometimes i even forget that little fact, but we did. it was summertime. end of june, just a few weeks after our 1 year. but you know, he was 18 and going to college and i was 17 and still in high school and it just… made sense.
actually, i was completely miserable over it, but i wasn’t about to tell him that. i went straight over to a friend’s house and cried all night over some chips and dip. and can you even just guess what i went and saw in the movie theater the very day after we broke up? yes. the notebook. i’m still not sure if this was the worst decision possible or the best idea ever. either way, i started crying in that beginning scene where the geese are flying over the water and i didn’t stop crying for days.
[this scene. tear.]
i mean, it was just too much. the summer under the trees and young love ending and summer romances are shooting stars, gone in a flash and all that… not to mention, you know, the ending… great. so when it was over i just sat there through all of the credits with my puffy eyes and tear blobs and feelings everywhere. it was the worst. [but i was officially in love with that movie.]
i mean, if only i’d known that it was actually the last summer we’d ever spend apart… that probably would’ve helped. a lot. but, you know, it took allie and noah 7 whole years to get back together so i really had no idea what was ahead.
and after a few months, i realized some stuff and turned 18 and enjoyed all the fun i was supposed to be having at 18. i even ran off to visit mary in california for a week that next spring, which was the best. but i definitely didn’t meet any, you know, “lon hammonds” in that period of time… and after numerous phone convos and exceptional woo-ing [on his part of course], we got back together just before he came home for the summer. on may 1st to be exact. over the phone. i was at a campfire. he was at the beach in florida. and thank goodness it did not take 7 years. whew. 10 months was plenty.
[now. yay!]
but if it had taken 7 years… we’d be getting back together this year. and that is just crazy! because it means i’ve officially reached the whole other end of my notebook perspective. i’m not the 17 year old allie anymore, i’m the one that says things like, “i’m a stupid woman!” and drives the car off the road right before a truck comes and she cries and reads her letters. how does life go so fast?
i’ve probably seen that movie 50 times by now, but i still can’t watch it without crying my eyes out into an entire roll of toilet paper. i’m not really sure if it’s just because it’s the notebook or because it brings back all of my own emotions from being 17. both, i guess. and i’m totally okay with that. and i don’t know why all this came flying back to me today, but i’ve realized that i really need to write all of these memories and things down again… because like a crazy girl [i’m a stupid woman!], i went and threw away all my journals a few years ago out of paranoia that someday someone would read my drama thought stories and curse my name, or worse, make a lifetime movie from them. now i wish i hadn’t done that. bring on the lifetime movie.
sometimes you just have to reminisce a little so that you don’t forget things. even the things i thought i wanted to forget, i don’t really! and the things i thought i’d never forget, i just might be forgetting. i don’t want to lose any of my memories… even the little ones, they’re all so important. maybe i should make a notebook. although now i kind of just want to go watch the notebook… oh, except our notebook dvd died in the flood. well. phooey.
…but anyway, we lived happily ever after. not the end.
[notebook photo source]
This is amazing and perfect and honest! I love love loved it. You're so right about everything.
And I'm the same way with The Notebook. I sob and cry and laugh at how silly I am for sobbing and crying.
xo
Awh I love this post so much. Thanks for sharing Brittany. Also I'm pretty sure The Notebook is the best best film maybe ever? Yes I think so 🙂
Ok I'm probably the ONLY girl in the world who didn't cry at that movie or really care for it. But, I was probably also 17 when I saw it (just checked when it came out to be sure-yep17) and I remember seeing it in the theatre with some
girl friends and not even understanding the ending and having to ask. Doh! Anyways, those were my non-crying days and I basically cry over every love story and proposal and what not now. I should probably give the movie a 2nd chance..
please write a book. even if it's just for me.
<3
I love that about the notebook. I feel like it's one of the few films that is truly GOOD in every aspect. Like you, I think every single time I watch it, it's like watching it for the first time, and every time I watch it like you, I cry too.
i love your little love, well, get back and get back together story! the same thing happened to me and my boyfriend right before college, but thankfully we're back together too. and is it pathetic i've never seen the notebook? i think you just convinced me though! haha 🙂 xoxo
That was my favorite book and is now my favorite movie. I have seen it countless times and cry like a baby each time as well. My hubby and I had broke up for a bit as well while we were young. Sometimes it makes you realize the extent of your feelings by being apart and when you get back together you just KNOW you don't want to ever be without them! So glad you story had a happy ending. xo
Awww…Brittany, I love love love this post; and I'm so happy that you and Stephen got back together, because you are so perfect together. AND…now I have to go and watch The Notebook – I haven't seen it in years! 🙂
awww. this is a very sweet post. it's a real reminder for me to keep thinking of love and all of the good things it brings. and really, it's more than that. it's a reminder to wait for it (not necessarily the guy – cuz not all guys are worth waiting for, IMHO) but the love part and really good relationships. i see that they are out there! i think i am going to have to watch the notebook this weekend! love your blog and thanks for sharing your story.
xoxo
This made me a little emotional… I think every girl relates to The Notebook, but not everyone gets to see their teenage love story play out. My fiance and I have been "together" since we were 14, we were off and on at that age because we were so young, but we started dating again when we were 16. We've been together almost 7 years now, and after many ups and downs (including the rough college transition years) we are getting married next June!
Thanks for posting such a beautiful story about your relationship – you guys are a beautiful couple!!
p.s. new follower!
oh my goodness. first of all, i love the way you write. second of all, as cliche as it sounds, the notebook is one of my all time favorites. i watched it last week and i was crying through, like, the last 30 minutes (duh). the excerpt you posted gave me chills!
Oh, so wonderful emotional story! i love it so so much especially when you narrated it with the Notebook story and titled your story with
"If you're a bird, I’m a bird"