love, love me do!

a little late for v-day...but here's to love!

Love is not the feeling you get when the sun shines and everything is going well, nor is it the red and pink flirtation of V-day. Love is knowing that your friend will always be honest with you and that you are treasured. It means that when you make mistakes, don't dress right, don't say the right thing, don't act nice, don't talk when you should have, don't give when you could have....that person will be there and will keep coming back for more.

Love is giving in when you really know you are right, choosing to smile when habits annoy and quirks are getting to ya, giving up things that you really didn't need anyway (even though you thought you did), always thinking about the best for that person whether or not it means you will always tell them what they want to hear.

It means giving of yourself, it means trusting and letting go of past hurts and grudges. it means being vulnerable even though you will get hurt. It means being gentle even when you want to scream out horrid words, it means not being offended when you have every reason to be.
Love is tattered and broken and always beautiful, love is strong and vulnerable at the same time, love cries with you when you are sad and is joyful when you are happy.
Love is not ditching, not giving up, not looking around to see where your needs could be better met. When things get tough love does not look elsewhere.

Love spoke one of it's loudest, clearest lessons to me in an old man and woman as they came into a store. she could not walk, he could not hear, their skin was wrinkled and old, she had a walker and he helped her along. Love is their commitment of 75 years through miscarriage,their children's weddings, and any type of difficult time you could imagine. Love is the way their eyes still twinkle when they see each other, the way he dances around her walker, the way he tenderly holds her hand and guides her. See, love is what happens when you are done putting yourself first and you are ready to care for someone else.

Love will always exist, not because it is easy,but because everyone needs to be loved, and everyone needs to love.