(Never) Too Late to Apologize... Too Late...

Iconic lyrics to an iconic song.

Okay. Maybe not so iconic, but One Republic's tune has certainly resonated with me before.



It's too late to apologize, it's too lateI said it's too late to apologize, it's too late

It's an infectious earworm chorus that has a way of hitting you right in the kisser - in the car, in your shower and while you're sweatin' it out Tony Little style.

This song has struck me intentionally on more than one occasion. It first used to be a little ditty a co-worker and I would secretly sing to each other after another co-worker's increasingly biting remarks dissolved our friendship.

I was also reminded of the lyrics when I weathered a fairly tenuous situation with my family. We're mostly all peace-love-and-happiness now, so I guess it's all good.

The one thing I realize - it's never too late to apologize to family. Never too late.

Friendships, on the other hand. Sometimes we apologize because we want to save something. We value our relationship and concede fault with the intent of relationship preservation.

Sometimes we never do say we're sorry. Our anger or disappointment overshadows the value we see in the relationship, and we end up closing the books on a chapter best left on the shelf.

I got the most unexpected apology this week, by way of a Facebook message. It was from a guy who claims the honor of being my first kiss. We were fifteen, he was pimply and a big Star Trek freak. I was the new girl in town and didn't have a friend to my name.

It was actually kind of cute, now that I think about it - making out in that closet while two other classmates watched the rest of The Life of Brian.

In his message, this boy-now-man said he was sorry for his behavior during our high school years, that, "...the way that I behaved toward you was at times unkind, with turns toward cruel. It seems unreasonable to me now to believe that this would have made your life any better during a time that is difficult for everyone."

I guess we really do grow up at some point, don't we?

The funny thing is, I don't even remember his being douchebaggy to me.

See, I was also a dork in high school, and my sights were likely set on people I deemed more important. This boy fell off my radar at some point, and I guess he didn't like that.

Or maybe not.

Anyway.

His note totally caught me off guard; we're not even Facebook friends. I replied that I am grateful for the apology, but it certainly wasn't needed. Fact is, high school is rough for everyone - no matter where you sit in the pecking order.

I responded, "If I knew then that in my adult years I'd be a mover and shaker and have the world by the balls, then I would have worried a little less about what people thought about me. I guess this is true for everyone..."

Sometimes, even though years and years have passed, and everything has turned out alright, I guess a little apology never hurt anyone.

Right?


Kate's Random Musings by Kate the Great is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.