I absolutely, positively, without question believe in TRUE LOVE. I believe because I’ve seen what it looks like and what it doesn’t look like. I’ve known some fine, wonderful women who have not won in love. Here are four ways I know true love exists.
- The emotion has staying power. Jack and I spent a lot of time away from each other. All of the time we dated, I was in a different state or city from him. We wrote lots of letters and (less, because this was the time before cell phones) we called once a week or so. We did not see each other every weekend, we didn’t date exclusively, and except for a week or two during summers, we didn’t even see each other during school breaks. Even after we were married, after spending nearly every moment of ever day with each other in the truck, we spent months apart while he worked in one state and I worked in another. But we stayed in touch always and we communicated our thoughts, feelings, dreams. We never doubted our feelings for each other. We built a foundation that allowed us to overcome difficulties in being apart. NOT true love, gets bored and wanders off.
- The individual is not as important as the other person—or the couple. Many times over the years, Jack gave up comfort and things he wanted so that I could thrive. If one or the other had to prevail in a situation,
we always talked about it and decided which solution best fit us as a team. He moved to Idaho because I had a job opportunity. I gave up my work in order to follow him while he succeeded at consulting. When I had such horrid back problems I could barely stand to get out of bed, Jack got up with me at butt-ugly o’clock and walked around the parking area until I could function, then he faced a full day’s work. He never complained. We’ve always accommodated each other for the good of the team and for love. NOT true love thinks of themselves and not the other person. - Each person feels cherished. In a loving relationship, people don’t just say “I love you,” they show it. It can be in small ways like helping with daily activities or with a touch, a look, a smile when the other person needs it. Jack never gives me flowers, but he gives me humor. He’s not big on romantic gifts (see last week’s post) but he’s good with a
surprise ice cream sandwich from Sonic or a hot cup of coffee. 😉 Feeling cherished means giving the other person what they need when they need it. For me that includes hearing “I love you,” too, but it goes far beyond that. NOT true love might say the words, might give the big gifts, but doesn’t show the meaning beyond them. - There’s deep feeling, not superficial. I know that appearance is what draws people to each other at the beginning of a relationship, but I don’t think it’s what keeps them together. Love, unlike beauty, is more than skin deep. Whether you are model-beautiful or not, your true love sees the real you, not your outside shell. Think about it. If you have true love, you’re going to grow older with that person. None of us looks the same at 60 as we did at 20, but the soul stays as beautiful. NOT true love falls in love with the outside, not the inside, and then holds that against you.
Jack and I have been with each other for forty-six years of marriage and seven years of dating. Has it always been easy? Well, no. Being in love doesn’t mean you don’t have problems. It means that you work through them together, and with attention to your lover more than to yourself. I’ve been the luckiest woman in the world to be in love with the world’s best man (your sweetie excepted!). And what’s better, I’ve been loved back. That’s something I thank God for each and every night.
Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.
Dee
Only a Good Man Will Do: Seriously ambitious man seeks woman to encourage his goals, support his (hopeful) position as Headmaster of Westover Academy, and be purer than Caesar’s wife. Good luck with that!
Naval Maneuvers: When a woman requires an earth-shattering crush of pleasure to carry her away, she can’t do better than to call on the US Navy. Sorry, Marines!
Gibby is no stranger to the perils of romance. Single until the age of 37, she dated many an interesting (dare we say crazy) guy until meeting the love of her life, Jim. They are married and live in the Cleveland, Ohio area with their very spoiled dog, Scoob. Gibby believes there is no true norm when it comes to relationships, and they all take hard work and dedication. When she’s not writing, you can usually find her hiking, at the theatre, or napping.
ever. He is of the opinion that when a man buys a woman flowers he’s feeling guilty about something. And he doesn’t buy perfume or pretty trinkets, though at times he has gifted me with some of my favorite earrings. No, my hubby is a practical gift giver.
my KitchenAid mixer and kitchen tools. He also learned what I do like in pocketbooks, in spite of the briefcase mix-ups, and he’s discovered that jewelry doesn’t have to be expensive for me to love it. One year when finances were particularly tight he wrapped a bag of miniature Baby Ruth candy bars, and it thrilled me. When the right sentiment is behind it, any gift can be wonderful.
given me gifts that can’t be measured in terms of money or usability: his name, his heart, and time to share his life.
the news, heard the promises made by politicians, and the reporting on offenses by the media. It wasn’t a pretty picture. My Air Force uncle went for a year. My Navy dad continued to hear rumors that his ship would be sent. I had friends who were drafted, a catechism teacher who became a POW (a great man, Jeremiah Denton), and my own sweetie’s draft lottery number was in the 60s, had he not stayed in school.
war is a necessity and sacrifices are inevitable. Where would we be without the soldiers of the Revolution? What if no one had decided to enlist after Pearl Harbor? Where would the world be had America and other nations not stood shoulder to shoulder against tyranny? We’re damn lucky we have 
men and women of character who are willing to leave their families and fight for freedom and country. We honor those who died for us on Memorial Day.
war and throw that person a party to honor them. They said go to our barbecues, have a few drinks, be with our families, but take a moment to say thank you.
took shots for it. Once hubby and I started driving truck and roaming all over the U.S., I lost my allergies. Hubby, on the other hand, is allergic to the world of the American South-Southeast.
anywhere near Virginia pollen, plants and trees, and he about dies. This is the reason we retired in the Northwest and not in the home of my heart, the Southeast.
I have a journal book. In fact, over the years I’ve spent a bit of money on many books for journaling/brain storming/idea keeping. One year I bought a pen with a small recorder in it so I could quickly record ideas as I was driving or just out of the house. Did I ever use it? No. I probably stuck it in my purse and then forgot it when I transferred to another purse. Lord only knows how many great ideas for best-selling books I’ve lost because I didn’t grab that pen, press the magic button and say, “falling leaf, red” or “blue Corvette, hair blowing in wind, girl named Sally Jean Johnson.”
imaginations come to mind while watching the stars cross the heavens, will be interesting reading someday. And maybe inspire that best-selling book after all.
YOU CAN’T RUN FROM ME Meet Anthony Stone. He considers himself a lover. A killer. His trade is killing. Anthony Stone is drawn closer to a woman called Laura, a woman he doesn’t even know. Anthony fell in love at first sight but is soon rejected the first time. He is convinced he can win her heart. Anthony digs deeper into her life when he discovers another man involved. After stalking her round the clock, he slowly learns the truth about her and pays a high price. His sick obsession with Laura gets way out of control, he will do what it takes to be with her and that includes killing anyone that steps in his way.