No Harm, No Foul

I'm trying something new today: It's a twist on forgiveness. I think I'm typically a forgiving person, but I find that forgiveness becomes more difficult to implement the longer I wait. And think. And stew. I'm trying a more efficient method of forgiveness: The preemptive strike. I'm just going to forgive before the apology comes--maybe even before I have a chance to register the offense. What's in it for me: Maybe a bit of reverse psychology. Maybe if I can get in the habit of forgiving preemptively, I'll become one of the least easily-offended people I know. I won't get mad a you for being a jerk (and you WILL be, on occasion, for you are human)--I won't even notice.

I had finally gotten the words out, said that after all this time, I felt as though you didn't know me at all. You looked completely trapped by your confusion. You did not respond. You looked to your left at a small pile of clothes, taken from the dryer and dropped carelessly on the couch. You picked up my little orange tank top, shook it out gently and then folded it, lengthwise, into three equal parts. Then you folded back the bottom of it, then the middle, making a perfect square.

That was enough for me.