The People Who Stay

Day 193 – June 4, 2026

I think one of the strangest parts of getting older is realizing how few people actually make it all the way through. Not because anyone failed. Not because anyone did something wrong. Just because life keeps moving.

People move. People change. People fall in love. People fall apart. People become parents. People become strangers. People become versions of themselves that no longer fit inside the same rooms they once occupied.

It happens.

And yet. Every once in a while somebody stays. Not physically necessarily. But emotionally. Spiritually. They remain part of the architecture. Part of the story. Part of the way you understand yourself.

I’ve been thinking about that lately. About the people who survive time. The people who survive distance. The people who survive entire chapters. The ones who know multiple versions of you and somehow keep loving you anyway.

That’s rare.

Because most relationships are built for a season. A job. A school. A neighborhood. A version of yourself. But every once in a while someone accidentally becomes permanent. Not because either of you planned it. Because life kept changing and somehow they kept being there.

Those are sacred people.

Not perfect people. Sacred people. There’s a difference. Perfect people don’t exist. Sacred people absolutely do. They’re the ones who witnessed things. The ones who remember. The ones who know the backstory. The ones who can look at who you’ve become and still see every version that got you there.

I love that.

Maybe because I’ve changed so much. Maybe because my life has changed so much. Maybe because I know how rare it is for somebody to remain when everything else is shifting.

Either way, I notice it now.

The people who stay. The people who show up. The people who continue choosing connection long after novelty leaves the room. That’s real love. Not the flashy kind. The durable kind. The kind that survives weather.

Roger, naturally, believes everyone should stay forever. His abandonment policy appears to be,
“Absolutely not.” Honestly? Respect.

Chaos in one hand. Grace in the other.

And me, grateful for the people who survived the plot twists.