Love…
You’re lucky if you have it in your life, but it’s something that i think a lot of us take for granted. You spend all this time searching, going through the motions, going through the idiots, and the jerks, and the ones that just don’t fit, one after the next after the next, hoping to get it right...hoping each time that this time it will stick…and then finally it does, but then what?
Life happens…
You forget how hard you searched, how much time and effort you put into making it happen, how much sleep you lost, how many disappointments, before one person turned your world around…and you return to life…now, if you’re lucky, with a partner in crime.
Just don’t forget to remember. Say thank you once in a while, do something special, take funny pictures, go somewhere new, celebrate your life together…the one you built…the one you so looked forward to having.
Sometimes I like to look at the successful relationships in my life—well, those I consider successful—and make note of how they get it right. My mom and dad did it right for ten years before life, and personal growth, and change got in the way, and I was too young to know what I was seeing, but since then, they each got it right, but separately.
There is one thing that I love about my dad (more than one thing, but one that I will talk about here), and if my step-mom is reading this, I will just apologize now for loving it so much. He laughs when she gets mad. Now, I’ve never seen her really get mad, but I have seen her annoyed and sometimes frazzled, and my dad has the greatest laugh in the world. It’s one of the happiest sounds I know, and when I see him laugh it off, I always think “I want that.”
I said tonight that my mom is a whirlwind…that’s because she is. I only write the truth Ma! She drives me crazy, she moves at a pace unmatched by even a cheetah, and sometimes just watching her will give me a headache…and her boyfriend doesn’t laugh at this (even though i do sometimes), he remains still, and he lets her run her circles…and somehow, they always end up in the same place…kind of like the tortoise and the hare. It’s a nice balance, and I’m glad they found each other, and even after a hundred years together, and all that insanity, they still hold hands. I want this too.
My sister and brother-in-law (who I usually refer to as my brother, but just realized, for those that don’t understand, that could make this story really gross), have one of the greatest relationships I have ever seen. They’ve been together FOREVER. Literally. Since they were 14 and 15 years old…high-school sweethearts...and in spite of the fact that the two grew up together, they have the most incredible respect for each other as individuals. They both work full-time jobs, and they are parents to the most awesomely talented kid in the world. My brother-in-law recently decided he wanted to become a triathlete, and he did. He runs and swims and bikes ALL.THE.TIME. My sister sometimes has to leave for job training for weeks at a time—sucks. But the two of them are wildly supportive of each other, and two of the best parents I have ever known…and the best part is, this is life-long love, and SO not the kind that makes you gag…how many people get to have that?
These three couples never seem to forget that before all the other stuff, they loved each other first. I’m glad I got to see it, and maybe, I will be this lucky too.
<3 Melissa
(via will100)
