Third Wheel, Doctor Who, and Relationships too…

Third wheel:

“a person hanging out with two people (usually a couple) that are in a sense leaving him/her out. Called the third wheel because…

“Having any odd number of wheels on an object generally messes it up.”

I had the occasion (unfortunately) to be put into a situation where I was made a third wheel…and not by choice. And I was wondering…was there anything I could have done to make the situation better, or head it off without seeming rude and churlish? I don’t honestly know…and would like to figure it out so that when it happens again, I have a response….

I think the problem was that it was sudden, and it came at such an inopportune time. As most of you may know (or are beginning to know), I love using analogies to explain things. Supposing you are in the woods…you have a limited amount of wood and kindling for a fire. You patiently and earnestly start building up your fire…and just when there’s a good blaze going, suddenly…a rain storm comes along and puts out your fire, and soaks everything to the bone.

In terms of your fire…you’re pretty much screwed. Had the rain come earlier, you could have kept the wood and kindling dry for another day, ready to start the fire once more. Had the rain came later…your fire may not have gone out because it was a rip-roaring fire, or you would have been warmed and heated by the flames.But when the rain came just as the fire was going…the worst of both possible worlds occurred–no warmth, wet fuel…and a long time to get things back to where they were.

There is an episode of Doctor Who, where the Doctor is killed because he’s attacked at PRECISELY the right moment when he is weakest.

I find relationships are like that–both friendships,and romances, especially in the beginning. Timing is everything…one rainstorm at the right place, an inopportune word, a wrong glance, a third wheel…can completely ruin it before it’s begun, or start a reset that takes time one doesn’t have.

Of course…sometimes things can come back, or be improved, or brought back to life…:) Sometimes things aren’t always lost. But sometimes…it’s not like in the movies. We don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, and sometimes we don’t get a second chance to make any impression at all. Time, and life conspire against us.

One of my favourite quotes is “Time is the fire in which we all burn”. It never stops, it never halts, it is continuous, and it is always moving forward.