Love Through the Years by Jana Richards

 

I’m not sure what my husband and I will do this year for Valentine’s Day. In the past—pre-Covid—we often made reservations at a nice restaurant and treated ourselves to a lovely dinner. Last year we stayed home, and I can’t remember exactly what we did. The days are beginning to blend together.

This year for Valentine’s Day I want to do something to mark the forty plus years we’ve been together, because being together for this long is reason for celebration. 

Love changes over the years. When you’re very young and you first meet, there’s the excitement and the desire to be together every waking minute. You put your best foot forward, always trying to look and be the finest version of yourself. At the same time, you’re looking to the future, perhaps going to school to train for the career you want. And of course, there’s crazy passion. It’s a busy, heady, exciting time.

Then you commit to each other in solemn vows witnessed by friends and family. If you’re lucky, the passion continues as you learn to live together, and get used to each other’s quirks and foibles. And if you’re really lucky, you learn to support each other and be each other’s biggest cheerleader. And best friend.

Then you’re ready to have children. Sometimes there’s heartaches on the way to having a family, like infertility issues or miscarriages. The way you support each other through these hardships, the way you band together, solidifies your relationship, and carries you through the bad times. 

When children come, that’s the biggest test. You share the responsibilities of child-rearing, at least as much as jobs will allow. These are such busy, crazy years. You’re constantly on the move, taking kids to activities and trying to build careers. In the midst of the busyness, it’s easy to forget you’re part of a couple. That couple needs to be nurtured, because without the love and commitment of the couple in the centre, there is no family. Special effort must be made to keep the lines of communication open and the passion alive.

And then suddenly, you’re an empty-nester. Once again, it’s you and your spouse. After years of child-raising, it’s almost as if you have to get to know each other again. Learn to be a couple again. This is a time you can pursue projects and hobbies, alone and together, that you didn’t have time for when the children were home and you were always busy. It can be a second act for many. And a new kind of relationship. Maybe the passion isn’t as intense as it was when you were young, but the caring and the love are still intact.    

Which brings me back to Valentine’s Day. I want to show my husband how much I value and honor and love him, and all the wonderful years we’ve had together. Maybe it won’t be anything big or fancy; neither of us is into flashy displays. But I don’t want the day to go by without showing my love. Love changes, but it endures.

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Just in time for Valentine's Day! Download a copy of my Valentine story CHILL OUT for .99cents:

Renata Cabral needs to hide for the weekend. Her cousin’s Valentine’s Day wedding means she’ll face embarrassing questions from her large, extended family. Questions like “Why aren’t you married yet?”  Since the breakup of her last relationship, she’s not ready to answer that question. She invents a work-related excuse and escapes to a friend’s lakeside cottage.

Noah Brownlee has been hiding for two years. But now he’s ready to come home and mend his broken relationship with his brother. When a friend offers the use of his lakeside cottage, Noah arrives in the middle of a blizzard with his English Mastiff, only to find the place is already occupied. With her big brown eyes and quirky sense of humor, Renata stirs feelings he thought long dead.

As the blizzard rages, the candy hearts predict love. Can Valentine’s Day work its magic between them?

Available at Amazon for .99 cents until February 11! https://www.amazon.com/Chill-Out-Candy-Hearts-Romance-ebook/dp/B018L29ZUY