I wrote Valentine’s Day: a Reality Check because I felt most of the things we’d swear we’d do to prove our love when we’re dating are pretty useless. Wonderfully romantic but useless. After fifteen years of marriage, I want promises that at least shake hands with reality.
Once upon a time you promised you’d …
Climb rugged mountains,
Cross the wildest seas,
Crawl through burning deserts
To prove your love to me.
That’s nice. But what I really need is someone who …
Suffers my uncle who never stops talking from the second he walks in,
Endures my bachelor brother who knows the best way to parent,
Puts up with my grandmother who hasn’t said a kind word in years.
If you can do all that, then I won’t promise to …
Brave a tornado,
Hack through the thickest jungle,
Battle a blizzard
To prove my love to you.
But I will swear to …
Suffer your mother who thinks no one is good enough for you,
Endure your sister who is always trying to convert me to her latest cause,
Put up with your stepfather who sticks to his favorite subject: him.
… and we will live happily ever after.
I love this!!! And isn’t that what love is- especially in marriage? The commitment to all of those little things is worth a lot more than any grand gesture 🙂
The funny thing is that when someone comes through on one of these little things, it still seems like a grand gesture.