Love, My Favorite Thing

I'm in love with love. Most types of love. Not all consuming self love, or the love of material things. But the kind of love that counts.

The Spark:

            Okay, this isn't really love, but it's a start. While in the grocery store, I saw my teenaged cashier making eyes at the bag boy. It was a look I'd seen her give him a thousand times. He never seemed to notice. I wondered if she was ever going to get up the nerve to talk to him. Then, one day I saw them outside having lunch together. They were both laughing and talking like old friends. It was cute. Maybe the beginning of something beautiful. At least, that's the way I preferred to see it.

Young Love:

            I've watched all of my children go through it. Sometimes, their hearts were broken. Sometimes not. While we were vacationing in Hilton-Head, we saw a young couple on the balcony of one of the local restaurants dancing their first dance as husband and wife. They had to be in their early twenties. Both of them were glowing as they gazed into each others eyes. I leaned back against hubby and smiled as he wrapped his arms around me. I didn't have to say a thing. He whispered in my ear, "Yes. They'll be happy."

Elderly Love:

            I used to work in a hospital on the oncology (Cancer) unit countless years ago. An elderly man was at his wife's bedside, holding her hand. She was dying of  pancreatic cancer. He had her picture on the nightstand. It was her when she was 25 years old. Every time I came into the room he would tell me about how they met, their life together, and how she was still as beautiful to him now as she was then. And I'd listen. I would listen to that story a thousand times if he wanted to tell it. She died about a week after she'd been admitted. He held her hand as she slipped away. When she was gone, he kissed her forehead and said, "See ya soon, kiddo."  True love.

First Love:

            Hubby and I love to eat out. We have a favorite place downtown that's popular for first dates, or intimate dinners. I love to see the spark in a couple's eyes. We like to play a game were we guess whether the relationship will last. Every once in awhile, we catch that glimmer in their eyes. That look that says, "You've got me hooked. Reel me in." I love those moments!

Long-term Love:

            This is where I am now folks, and it's a great ride! Hubby and I are reaching our twenty-fourth year together, and I wouldn't change a thing. I know about his imperfections and he knows mine. He's seen me at my worst and I've seen him at his. It doesn't change how we feel about each other. He doesn't believe me when I say I know when he's around, even when I don't see him. I come out on the front porch when he's rounding the corner of our street or just entering our neighborhood. And no, he doesn't get home at the same time every day. Or we'll have lunch together when I'm working out of the office near his. I know the moment he hits the parking lot. He calls it coincidence. I just smile. Doesn't work if I'm immersed in a book or writing though.

What about you? What's your favorite type of love?