Author's Note: If you were wondering by the title, this week's title "And Love said No" is a song by the band H.I.M. For those curious.
When Wyatt and I were in elementary school, we planned to get married.
We were best of friends, him and I, and I couldn't think of leaving his side, ever. My solution was marriage. I was a very threatening nine year old, so I don't think he had much choice in the matter. At the time, Wyatt was interested in soccer, legos, and convincing his arm not to cut his hair. In truth, he was the boy version of me. It was fate, ladies and gentleman.
My pictures have many pictures of him and I when we were young, me in my church dresses and him with his adorably messy dark brown hair, holding hands skipping down the street. No doubt we were off to a pirate lair of fortress or whatever we had invented.
I was nine. I didn't know what love was. I knew it was the word I sweet talked my parents with. I knew it went along with the phrase I mumbled to my brothers and sisters before I went to bed. All I knew was that Wyatt was, as I would say, my "bestest friend" and I didn't know what to do without him.
As I grew, I learned more. I learned love could be wonderful and mysterious, and love could hurt a lot more than it was you think it's worth. Lord, how love can hurt.
In middle school, 'going out' with someone wasn't taken seriously. Girls and guys switched more than dance partners, and even I, who was living it, thought it was a bit ridiculous. Oh, gosh. I remember one time in seventh grade, one of my friend's brother's friends asked me out, and somehow I ended up saying yes. I barely knew him. Before I left, he told me his phone number. I had no pen nor paper, so I tried repeating it in my head a couple times.
By the time I crawled into my brothers car, I had forgotten the number and I never saw that boy again. And guess what? I didn't care. How twisted is that? Oh, well. It's a good example of really young relationships.
And even if none of us have much luck with love, we can all realize what an incredibly beautiful thing it is. I'm not talking about the kind where you meet him one night, somehow end up with his hoodie, stash it in your closet and wonder months later how the heck it got there kind of love. (How long of a sentence is that?)
No.
I'm talking about the kind of love where you take home his hoodie and every chance you get glance at it and touch the sleeve. It sounds corny because it is. Love is corny. Love is sweet, humorous, blissful, corny, tragic . . . and somehow extremely beautiful.
Love makes you feel beautiful. That's why we all chase after it. There aren't enough beautiful things in this world, and that's why we need love. Love makes the bare trees seem like frosty, magical soldiers lining down your street. Love makes the stars have an extra bit of twinkle. Love makes that short, white tank top a little more appealing. Love really does. I'm writing this from a girl's point of view, because I am obviously not a boy. I hope you can all somehow relate, though. That's the key to this column. To get inside your head, to make you think and relate it to things in your own life.
Suddenly, we learn the definition of love and those once arrogant, stupid boys become mysterious, nice-smelling boys. Those sarcastic, stuck up girls become nice and enjoyable. Well . . . tolerable, as my brothers would say.
Speaking of brothers, I've seen the three of them go through some very interesting relationships. they sure know how to pick them, my brothers. Once Derek, Dan or Joseph break up with a girl, that girl becomes my new best friends. We spend hours on the phone talking about how stupid they are. I have endless stories, don't try me :)
But hey, that's love. Scary, fun, poetic, corny, wistful, nice-smelling . . . and above all, beautiful.
Love, with all its 'foul temptations', according to the Death Cab for Cutie song "We Look Like Giants".
Somehow, no matter what we do with it, it remains beautiful.
Glitsygrl
P.S.: Wyatt and I aren't married. We still are best friends, though. I guess marriage isn't the solution for everything :P
