L-O-V-E.......Hmmmmm?

'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.' This is a famous quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson. I have been pondering this quote for quite a bit of the day. I really wish that I could have a word with Mr. Tennyson to see just exactly what he meant by this statement. I would have a few questions for him. For example, if I never loved and didn't know what it felt like, what would I really miss? This is like telling a child that cotton candy is great, melts in your mouth and leaves a sugary goodness that dances on your taste buds. If that child never experiences the sweet satisfaction of cotton candy, what has the child missed? I would ask Mr. Tennyson, what about those who have loved and lost and never regained or found love again? Is it really great to have had such a feeling that can't be explained only to have it snatched from you, never to be returned again? How do you deal with the agony of the void that is left? Then I would want to know which love he was referring to. Is this in relationship to spousal love, family love, parent/child love, etc? All of which can be quite different but yet equally passionate.

I am wondering if true love really exist in this day and age. Is there a love that is so great and deep that someone is grateful just for the experience even if it doesn't last? (and if it doesn't last can it really be identified as true love) Are marriages today built on this same love? If so, what happened to that love that somehow ended and contributed to the 50% divorce rate? I believe that type of love can be obtained but you have to choose to love. You also have to work hard to keep love, or do you? Did this love die with Tennyson? My inquiring mind needs to know.

Time Waits For No Man

I just had the worst wake up call yesterday. I realized that I am actually getting old. My son and I were watching a movie, Julie and Julia, and there was a scene in the movie that flashed "2002" as the time frame. Well my son looks at me with his doe eyes and says, "Mom is that the way it looked back then in 2002?" This threw me for a moment. "Back then" kept resonating in my head. "Back then?", I started asking myself. I mean for me, "back then" represents the 50's, 60's, maybe even the 70's. "Back then" was a question that I asked my own mother. Surely "back then" has not traveled through time ran ahead of me, turned around and smacked me into reality! Unfortunately, it had. I then thought well maybe he is trying to be funny. He just wanted to throw a little playful jab with his words, but then it dawned on me. My child was born in November 2001. Therefore, he sincerely meant, "back then". Talk about a ton of bricks that jolts you into reality! I could not believe that I am now answering a "back then" question. This lit a fire in me that will not be quenched. We only live once. We have to live life to the fullest. We must accomplish our goals and conquer our fears. Once time is gone, it can never be regained. Life goes on, time moves on, but when ours is up, it's over. Carpe Diem - Seize the day!