As corny as it sounds, I love Chicken Soup for the Soul books. I bought Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul a few years ago, and never had the urge to open it. Its been by my bedside for years, and after we married, I had a craving to read it...not from page 1 though...I gotta skip around ;)
First page I opened up to couldn't be more true, and real, so I had to share it. Its the greatest explanation of intimacy I've ever heard...and the way I've always described it to others. I knew this true intimacy existed, and never fully felt it until I met my sweet husband....
Chapter: Love & Intimacy
What Does It Mean to Be a Lover?
"Presence is more than just being there." Malcolm Forbes
What does it mean to be a lover? It is more than just being married to or making love to someone. Millions of people are married, millions of people have sex~but few are real lovers. To be a real lover, you must commit to and participate in a perpetual dance of intimacy with your partner.
You are a lover when you appreciate the gift that your partner is, and celebrate that gift every day.
You are a lover when you remember that your partner does not belong to you~he or she is on loan from the universe.
You are a lover when you realize that nothing that happens between you will be insignificant, that everything you say in the relationship has the potential to cause your beloved joy or sorrow, and everything you do will either strengthen your connection or weaken it.
You are a lover when you understand all this, and thus wake up each morning filled with gratitude that you have another day in which to love and enjoy your partner.
When you have a lover in your life, you are richly blessed. You have been given the gift of another person who has chose to walk beside you. He or she will share your days and your nights, your bed and your burdens. Your lover will see secret parts of you that no one else sees. He or she will touch places on your body that one else touches. Your lover will seek you out where you have been hiding, and create a haven for you within safe, loving arms.
Your lover offers you an abundance of miracles every day. He has the power to delight you with his smile, his voice, the scent of his neck, and the way he moves. She has the power to banish your loneliness. He has the power to turn the ordinary into the sublime. She is your doorway to heaven here on earth.
~Barbara De Angelis, Ph.D
The first time I read this I cried. Every stinking example/experience is true...and possible!
Happy early Birthday to the person that can make me laugh when I'm crying, smile when I'm sad, help me take care of our zoo-like pups (not get mad when Loxie eats your shoes), surprises me with random I love you's, doesn't complain about the 2.5 sqft of bed he has to himself, cooks me food (and remembers my food allergies), stops by the studio just to say hi, help me apply fake tan, watches How to Train Your Dragon with me, and most of all...loves unconditionally. I love you more than chocolate & peanut butter, AND more than you'll ever know!
I'm so happy you were born!
(*PS that's exactly what is engraved inside his wedding band: I <3 you more than chocolate & pb)
Love,
Breezy Osborne-Wingfield
Our Wedding Day~Friday, October 1, 2010
