Today L is for .....
Love
What is love? There are many different types of love. For example I love my husband, I love my son, I love my cat, I flipping LOVE bunnies, I love Lego Minifigures and I love Star Bars.
Do I love Lego in the same way I love my husband? Of course not.
Love happens in many different ways. When you first meet a guy or a gal is it love at first sight? Or is it lust?
When you give birth your body releases a rush of hormones called Oxytocin which promote affection, attachment and a desire to protect and guard the baby. Is this the rush of love that Mothers experience? The overwhelming desire to protect this tiny human from harm and kill anyone who tries to hurt it. What about Fathers? Is there a hormone that releases in them as they watch their child come into the world or when they hold it for the first time or is it an inbuilt urge to protect and defend? Or is it simply love?
Children. When do they start to love rather then depend on their parents? They say "I love you" as it is often one of the first phrases they hear. But what about children who are raised by abusive families? Victims often say "I wanted to be loved" and will often say that they loved their abusers.
I don't see my Mother. She chose long ago not to have a relationship with me or my family. She used to say "I love you because you are my daughter". That always made me uncomfortable as that didn't seem enough. You have to show love, you can't just say it.
I love my son with almost a fierceness to the point that if anybody hurts him I have this overpowering desire to protect him. We have always told him that we love him, even during arguments and I hope as he grows older he will know he was loved. We've snuggled, cuddled, read stories, visited places together, supported him through school and college and we continue to support him now.
The biggest day of love has to be Valentines Day.
It is a multi million pound business where sales and prices of red roses soar and women hope for that bouquet to be delivered to their workplace. Come on you do, don't you? Every year my husband and I say we aren't bothering with Valentines Day (we've been together for 22 years) and every year we buy each other a card or present! We get suckered in like thousands of others.
Chick Lit and Romcoms are huge business. No matter how loving a relationship you are in, most women love a romantic hero (they'll tell you they don't). Whether it be a bad boy or a Mr D'arcy women (and men) will still buy romantic fiction or flock to the cinema for a Ryan Reynolds film! Or is that just me??
Blimey!! Anyway love. I think love is what you make it. Whatever you feel in your heart and brain when you look at your hubby/wife, son/daughter, cat/dog, bunny, Lego or chocolate is love.
To end I wanted to share with you the quote we had on our wedding invitations:
"My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite"
Romeo & Juliet - William Shakespeare
My Loves
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| My Family |
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| Bunny!! |
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| Lego Minifigures |
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| Star Bar |
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| My Cat |
A to Z Blogging Challenge here
I love what you said about telling your son you love him even in arguments. I intend to do that with our daughter (and any other children we may have in the future). I want to be able to let her know, even if I am in the middle of disciplining her, that I love her. I never want her to think that our love is conditional in any way.
ReplyDeleteAlso, while I am a hopeless romantic and love a good love story as much as anyone, I always tend to compare the "hero" to my husband. I've honestly yet to find anyone who holds a candle to him.
Great post!
Mary @ Willoughby Editing
Thanks very much, glad you liked it x
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