Love Is...

At 17, the only thing that mattered...was trying to identify what really mattered.

By the 23rd of December of that 17th year I found what mattered, and she still matters to me.

My 4th year of conversational French was one of those things that did not matter...but it did change my life.

I am saddened that I never invested the time to properly Thank dear Mr. Murphy.  Not for the French lessons (Jennifer knows I never did learn how to say "Ketchup" in French), but for the life lessons he provided along with the French.

You see, Judy and I had the same French class...and though we sat in the back and made eyes at each other, we still sometimes listened to Mr. Murphy as he talked more about life than he did about conjugating Frence verbs.

In fact, he once told me to leave Wolcott after I graduated, for it had nothing more to offer me (but that is a story for another time).

Even more life changing than his guidance to "get out of Dodge" was his declaration one day that...


Love is a decision which you have to make everyday...


He went on to say that one does not simply fall in love, and that love does not survive without making a decision everyday to love that someone.

That happened to be a day that we listened... 

And for the most part, we've made that decision to love each other...everyday, over and over and over for the last 43 years.




But, sometimes I forget.




I was reminded of the importance of deciding to love someone in the recent passing of Lou, a 98 year old WW2 veteran, who my dear mother had grown very fond of over the last 5 years.

She said they loved each other and at 90 and 98, I think what that really means is that you spend time together, eating, talking, just hanging out and putting puzzles together. 

I know they couldn't do much else, neither could drive, walk or get out of bed without an aid helping.




She said they also kissed, but I covered my ears at that point.  It's just a bit too much to process.

But maybe even kissing helps to keep things moving smoothly along...at 17 or at 98.




I believe that perhaps we don't really need as much as we might think to love someone else.  It is really just a decision that needs to be made everyday, and maybe a hand to hold, a bit of conversation, a puzzle to work together...and perhaps, even a kiss once in a while.



While not our regular travel update, this View from Windy Hill might just make life's journey a bit more enjoyable for someone else, and perhaps act as a gentle reminder (at least for me) that even if you live to 98, life is too short to not make a decision every day to love that special someone.


Let the adventure continue...