I find myself traveling a ton lately (as I’ve mentioned/lamented again and again on this site) and, as is the case for many other writers, inspiration comes at unexpected times,  unprompted by situations and people that make sense. Instead, it’s the "second-glass-of-wine" epiphany that usually produces the insights; other times I can be on the shuttle en route to another day at work with only my Blackberry as a way to jot down my contemplations. And so I leave posts that include misspellings, posts that have been deciphered through tears and wine spillage and sometimes, like this one, as written on a United airlines napkin coming back from Chicago on Valentine’s Day.

We are all fighting to be the exception. The reality that monogamy is a farce is a truth we instead choose to rebuke & to shun. Instead, we enter into relationships with eyes open or clapsed shut – in the end, it doesn’t matter. Because the hypothesis of ‘happily ever after’ (in stark contrast to the reality of infidelity) has us crossing our fingers, wishing on every star. And even in the most seemingly ‘perfect’ romances we still have to try and convince ourselves that we are – that our relationships are – different, I’d venture to say that it’s a struggle, an uphill battle, one we each, every day, have to fight to win. Being the exception is to have won.

What this says to me is that a) I should never be allowed to travel alone on a Valentine’s Day again and b) I should never be allowed anywhere near a pen, paper or, hell, even a napkin, after more than a glass of wine.