Luuurrrrvvvveee!

As it’s valentines I thought I would talk about love.
I have thought I was in love many times in my life. Maybe I was, but this, this is the love I’ve always been searching for.
I was 27, been single a long time and had lived here a year. I didn’t know anyone, I felt ready to have a relationship, but wasn’t sure how to meet someone. I turned to the internet. It was a bit scary, but I thought well, I’m half normal and giving this a go, surely someone else is too! I wanted to do it properly, not just chatting, actual dates. We started chatting, and he made me laugh, he seemed kind and interesting. We arranged a date, then another. By the end of the 3rd date I was scared! Woah! This was getting serious, I really liked him! I went through the usual turmoil, would I get hurt? Did he like me? I had the best advice at this time, my sister told me to take a deep breath and jump right in. Thank god I did!
How did I know I was in love? On February 13th 2008 we had a car accident, it was pretty huge. At the hospital, he was all I asked for. For the first time in my life I needed someone other than my mum to make me feel safe.
How do I know I’m still in love? Well, he’s the only person I can truly be myself with. I think about him all day, everyday. When I’m with him I am happy, when I’m not with him I want to be with him. Simple really.
I have been asked how we remain so happy and in love after all these years, people sometimes question if it’s real, if we are at each other’s throats behind closed doors. The answer is yes, we are really happy, we rarely argue or fall out.
How? For us, it’s about priorities. Pick your battles. Is it worth expending the energy on a fight about something unimportant? If he doesn’t take the bin out, is it worth shouting about? We’re not going to break up over it! We’ve been through some big stuff. Stuff that was worth fighting about, it kind of puts things in perspective.
We communicate our feelings. If we piss each other off, which happens, we’re human, we tell each other. We don’t do it in a confrontational way, just, what you said hurt my feelings, or, when you do that it annoys me. The other person acknowledges and hopefully doesn’t do it again. If I’m in a bad mood I’ll tell him, it’s not his fault, but he needs forewarning!
We appreciate each other every day, he tells me I’m beautiful, we count our blessings, we know we are lucky to have each other.
I can truly see myself spending the rest of my life with him, each and every day of it, and not getting bored or wanting more.
There you go. Love, all wrapped up. If you find it, hold on tight. Work at it, appreciate it, and please… Take a big breath and jump right in.
Happy valentines day!