Thursday, July 7, 2016

Love is in the Air - Prompt 1/21




So, can one really be in love at 13 or 14 years old?  Or, even at 16 or 17?

There are so many years ahead for one so Young... and, coming from one so Old - almost 65 years old - who has "been there, done that", perhaps many times...

It does feel like true love may not even exist; for one who has a hard time knowing if there ever has been true love and questions it constantly!

Does true love come and go in a flash?  Does true love end when you're 13 years old and you have to move away because your dad is being transferred?

{I shared a couple of these short love stories in the 21 Days of Journaling in January 2015 for this very prompt; check it out here.}

Does true love last only until someone else - better? handsomer? cuter? - comes along?  When you've found your true love, at 16 years old, does it last forever?

Who is to say what will last forever... The 13 year old "crush" moved on as soon as he knew I was leaving!  That isn't true love!  That isn't loyalty!  The 16 year old - more mature? - love... well, guess who thought the grass was greener?!

Then, who can resist a "man" in uniform?  At 17 years old, I certainly didn't!  And, displaying a "rock" - a small rock - on my left hand ring finger... I beamed when I showed it off to my high school friends!

And, he left; transferred back to Texas... a few letters, phone calls; and, another "true love" gone!

So, more dates; more "men" and comparisons and trying to figure out just who my true love would be...

Another couple of years; and along came another man in uniform... and, I fell hard for his dark eyes and dark hair!  He was polite, and caring, and loving, and fun to be with... after a whirlwind few months of dating, we set the date to get married...

I was only 20 years old when we married.

But, I was ready!  Ready to be married; to be on my own; to be an adult; but the little - and BIG - signals my parents saw were not so apparent to me.  I was in love with my true love!  This was the one I wanted to spend my life with...

Two wonderful children and about seven years later... I left with the children and left the man who seemed to prefer alcohol to his family; the one who seemed to prefer being away from them by continuously volunteering to be stationed overseas, where families could not join him...

And, I became the single, divorced, working mother; raising two children.  We moved closer to my parents; and I had no thoughts about dating or finding another true love.

Eventually, I did date; and, yes, I found another true love!  He wasn't a young 13 or 14 year old; or an immature 16 or 17 year old.  He didn't have dark eyes and dark hair; and didn't wear a uniform!

He was 12 years older; he was a blond hair blue-eyed man who played the harmonica in a band on the weekends; and I asked him to dance!


Bobby and Barbara
March 2008

How long does true love last?  Well, this year will be 33 years that we've been together!

I don't always feel, even after so many years, that this is my true love.  It's been rough; we've had many ups and downs... throughout the years, I've thought several times of leaving; but we have stayed together... for a number of reasons; but this is about true love, not about leaving!

So, here we are, both retired and enjoying - somewhat - the life of retirement.  It could be better!  We could have plenty of money for travel and fun; but, we have fun as often as we can in the ways that count; and we have family surrounding us.

And, love is in the air with our family: our children and grandchildren!




2 comments:

  1. Beautifully written, Barbara, and I learned something new about you, too! I did not know that you had been married before and left with your children. I have also been married, divorced, and had sole custody of my daughter who is now 19 years old. She was only a year old when we separated. It is funny because our story started when we were teenagers, but we parted ways only to be reunited after I went through my separation and divorce from my first husband. Our teenage true love was reignited, we married, and we went on to have a daughter together. He claims my oldest daughter as his own as well since she was so young when he re-entered the picture. Sorry to go on and on, but your post sparked this in me with our similarities. I was a struggling single mom for a while too, but praise God, we both made it and went on with our true loves. It's been so many years for you, and through it all you've stuck it out although times were hard and you wanted to leave. You didn't, and that is what matters. Much love to you, sweet Barbara. I enjoyed getting to know you better through your writing tonight. I'm glad we're doing the 21 days of journaling together!

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    1. Thank you so much, Shirley! I appreciate your reading this and commenting...we do have much connections here! And, I did leave off what I felt was the "most sensitive" to me; that IS in the hand-written journal. Yes, I AM glad we are doing this 21 day journey together! I'll be waiting to read more...

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