Love is…

Remember those books? Okay, maybe you do and maybe you don’t. My point is, they are just a book. They were all the rage in the early 70s. A time when love was – whatever you wanted it to be, cute, casual, strong, forever, or even fleeting, just temporary – for the moment. It was not what it is today, or is it? What is love for you and for those around you?

Love is not a Hallmark card, it isn’t American Greetings either. It is the things you do, the things you say, your actions and the way you conduct yourself around the people who you care about the most.

Today, my husband and I are married 19 years. We didn’t approach our marriage lightly. We thought about it and talked about it and what we wanted in our lives. We agreed on nearly everything – independently. Of course, we have disagreed here and there, about politics, about the staff in the business we shared for a few years, about what we should have done in this situation or that…but fundamentally, we like each other, we respect each other and we rely on each other to support our strengths and our weaknesses. We love each other.

To me, love is what you make it and how you get through one day, one week, one month and one year – maintaining the same basic level but gradually increasing your admiration, respect and support (and so much more) that you are willing to give the other person. He is my “other half”; and no, I don’t mean the missing part of me, I mean the part that makes me better. To all of you who have lived and loved through another day, more in love…may you go one more day and be happier on the other side. Cheers to another year, another decade and so on…

~ Dawn aka Hat Girl