Great Expectations

Part of being in love is not fighting love.
It's like being in an ocean's current. The more you swim against it, the more it wears you down. But if you relax and let it carry you along, the experience can be lovely, even relaxing... and much, much safer.
Why can't Meredith figure that out?
I mean, she gets it, right? She gave the guy who fell 12,000 feet advice on love.
She told him she got "one last chance" and that the feeling you can do anything goes away. She told him to own up to his feelings and tell his instructor he loves her. Good grief! Why can't she do it?
We know why Derek feels like he has to "take care of her," but he told Cristina that Meredith won't let him. And Cristina said she is taking care of Meredith. I hope we're getting a glimpse that Meredith is due a reality check.
"Being aware of your crap and actually overcoming your crap are two very different things," said Cristina.
Is that not the truth!
But for some reason, Meredith chooses not to help herself.
I know it's easy for a (semi) sane person to ask those questions. Meredith isn't whole. We know this. We know that's why she needs fixing. Saving. And we know that no one can do that for her. She knows she's going to lose Derek if she doesn't get it together. I'm worried, too. That's a whole other current, and Derek is getting worn out.
Did it seem to anyone else, though, that Meredith might be turning a corner?
When she was talking to Derek (after more break-up sex) about what it was like when he pulled her out of the water and how the experience sort of "washed everything clean," I thought maybe she's opening her eyes -- and her heart -- to commitment.
It's all about expectations.
Meredith has an expectation of what love should be. I think she thinks it's supposed to be easy. And we know it isn't. And she's fighting it.
The bloodied wedding dress personified the struggle with great expectations. There was the expectation of being a winner... at any cost. Of being a beautiful bride. Of having the perfect wedding. Of being the perfect daughter, girlfriend or wife.
(On a side note, I would've smacked the girl whose shoulder was pulled out of socket, but that's just me.)
I reluctantly admit that Izzie and George seem to have figured out real love. (Did I really just say that?) Poor Izzie's breakdown over their NOT-SO "perfect night of hot sex" rings truer to me than the constant tug-of-war going on inside Meredith. I loved Izzie's expectation of how things would be for their first time together as a real couple. I also knew that there was no way in hell it would be perfect, so settling for a spooning session with SLEEP first on the agenda was so believable and sweet. Isn't that how real couples in love are? And who couldn't help but laugh at Izzie managing to shave only one leg in her exhaustion!
We're uncomfortable with Izzie & George. So is everyone else on "Grey's", but they really seem to have love. Real love. Tangible love. Long-term love. And like it or not... they've walked through the fire, and they're still holding on to each other.
And then there's Meredith & Derek.
We're rooting for them to give in to their fears (mainly Meredith) and fall deeply, madly in love, get married, have a family... the whole nine yards. We're invested in their turmoil. We know they've hurt each other badly, but we want them to be together ... and be happy... somehow.
Then again... how much of a real relationship do we want for them? Remember the whole snoring thing? MerDer drama is like a drug. If they wind up living "happily ever after," where will we get our fix?