14 years ago, the beautiful duo Johnnyswim wrote a song called “Paris in June”. Like literally ALL of their songs, it is poetic and romantic – stirring something within.

Johnnyswim had never been to Paris in June. Without being there, they knew its magic, its charm, its sweetness. Without experiencing it in person, they believed in the beauty of Paris in June, so much so, to use it as an anthem for love.

Fast forward to June 2025. Johnnyswim posted a picture of them with their 3 kids in Paris. In June.

Call it fulfillment, fruition, fate. Although they feel like old friends to me because of the powerful ways their music and lyrics connect us, I imagine that they had no idea that 14 years later, they’d be galavanting through Paris in June with three beautiful children in tow, exploring the magic, charm, and sweetness they once wrote about sight unseen.

Won’t, won’t, won’t let you go.
You pool from me like Moses did the stone.
Please, please, please let it last,
A penny for your thoughts and a rose for your past.
Every word that comes from you
Moves me like Paris in June.

Johnnyswim. “Paris in June”

Waiting for things to “come to fruition”, “come to the surface”, “come into being” is honestly one of my least favorite things. And apparently, I’m not alone. “The Good Part”, a song performed by AJR with 19,684,959 views on YouTube, became the background music to countless instagram reels and tik tok posts. A barrage of photos containing their latest travels or babies taking their first steps or kids graduating flashed for seconds with the intro “Can we skip to the good part?”.

And sometimes we can. Sometimes something happens in a flash. A rush. A moment. A strike of gold.

But other times, it can feel like forever. Like it just might not happen. Or maybe it never will.

I’m a fairly impulsive person. And I love efficiency. So in the words of another freaking talented musician, this is typically the motto behind my own movement – “I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it”.

There is a lot of talk about the waiting. Clichés like, the destination is the journey, imply that the wait is actually “the good part”. If that is true, we can’t get to where we’re going without it.

So no, AJR, we can’t skip to the good part. Because the wait, the pain, the suffering, the unanswered prayer is the good part. And then it makes the arrival, the fulfillment, the fruition the best part.