A Day for Love!

Excellent news on the travel front, I landed without incident to myself or my neighbor in the next seat. My trip to the Big Easy was just that, easy and enjoyable. As stated in prior blog, the suspension of all good intention went off without a hitch and I was able to enjoy everything New Orleans had to offer. Deep fried soft-sided crab po-boy (some would call it soft shell but the idea of eating, even a soft shell, did not appeal to me) bread pudding, jambalaya, hurricane(s), beignets and best of all... the music. I can honestly say I didn't act my age, which could actually become my mantra for the years head.

After that I had a wonderful weekend with family visiting the north shore and it was difficult to come back to the reality of everyday life. I am so glad today is a holiday so I could carry on the festive mood I have been enjoying for the last 7 days. Actually, it was difficult to keep that spirit alive since I worked all day. Fortunately my beautiful daughter dropped over on her way to an interview and brought me a wonderful, homemade, valentine card. Of course this put me right in the spirit of Valentine's day and I thought it would be appropriate to share my thoughts on the very important topic of Love.

Love is patient, love is kind... Oh, never mind, that one has been done. Maybe this task is not so easy. I have consulted Google on "what is love" and apparently Google believes it has something to do with romance, silly Google. Romance is more about joy (fleeting joy), bliss (fleeting bliss) and pleasure (you get the idea).

I also don't think "things" play into love, even though we all talk about loving our things. Real love can only happen between two living beings (including pets) because when you give it you can feel the effect, and that effect, inevitably, without a doubt... is perfection. You can physically feel it when you are looking at someone you love; a tightness in your center and sometimes a knot in your throat.

You don't even have to be looking at someone you specifically love to have the feeling come over you. My friend Amanda and I were going through security in New Orleans and there was an older woman in the line in front of us. She was lovely in a serene way that only someone over 80 can pull off. Her adult daughter and granddaughter were saying goodbye to her and they were quietly crying and hugging each other. There was something so tangible in that moment, so strong, that when Amanda and I finally looked at each other we both had tears in our eyes. Sometimes witnessing love is almost as great loving someone.

Fortunately I was able to pull Amanda out of this emotional stupor by making up stories about how secretly the daughter was so glad to have her nagging mother finally heading home, but neither of us really believed that.