Part One: Love Is Patient

Valentine’s Day is a mere two weeks away, and if you hang out long enough in the card section of WalMart, you can see the panic starting to set in.  Actual beads of sweat line the foreheads of lanky teenage boys and rosy cheeked girls, stand wide eyed with their hands full of sentimental options.   I just can’t muster up too much excitement about Valentine’s day anymore.  It lost its appeal somewhere along the journey.  The commercialization, the frenzy, the sub-par floral arrangements.  It no longer says “love” to me. 

But it hasn’t always been that way.

That first Valentine’s Day when my husband and I were dating...well, I figured Cupid had landed on our doorstep and it would be rude to deny sweet ol’, adorable Cupid all the chocolates and candy hearts and presents wrapped in red wrapping paper, that he deserved.  So Cupid and I set off for the mall. 

In my shopping bag went Brett’s Favorite Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter hearts, a beautifully written card that spoke of my unending and committed love, a small stuffed teddy bear holding a puffy heart that read “life is only bearable when you’re around”… and the crowning glory… a deal-of-the-century, end of winter sales, black leather coat.  If they gave out awards for Girl Friend of the Year, I would surely be snagging one this year, I thought.

The big day arrived and Brett invited me to come over to his place at 6:00.  Knowing few details….assuming it was all a big surprise…I dressed in my finest and headed over to his apartment… I knocked and he greeted me promptly, at the door. 

Taken aback to find him dressed in pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, I ignored it and figured he simply hadn’t yet donned the appropriate attire for our big night out on the town. 

Excited about sharing presents, we settled into the living room couch to open the Valentine loot.  First I handed over the card.  Then the Teddy Bear. Those chocolate hearts!  And then… that coat. That beautiful, handsome coat. 

To which, he briefly oood and awwwed, said "thank you"…and setting the coat aside, turned on the television while simultaneously uttering the words, “pizza should be here any minute.”

The Bible says that "love is patient." I'd say that's not entirely true. 

I figure love is challenging and expectant, hurried and all dressed up even when it's just pizza night.  I think love is found in the harried brush of anothers lips as you head out the door and the fleeting grasp of a tiny hand, that soon will leave her parents behind.  And love is demanding because it trusts the other enough to be so.  But patient?  I don't know.  

Stay tuned for part two, of this sordid love story...