YOUNG LOVE
There are certain things about being young that I miss:
minimal to no responsibility (obviously this isn’t true for all young people,
but let’s live in the land where things are as they should be), sleeping well,
fearlessness, and of course having an arse that sits up on high (eating junk
food without repercussions also ranks up there). But it’s the feeling of
falling in love (or like/fondness etc) for the first time that I look back on for which I have the most envy (although not young heartbreak, let’s clarify that right now).
You know that first discovery of the opposite sex that
ignites those chemical endorphins that sets your heart alight; the ‘I can’t
even be in the same room with you or my head will explode’ kind of feeling that
is encapsulated by young love. Coupled with all these ‘love’ feelings of course
are hormones surging through one’s veins at the speed of light which in
combination are a pretty high-octane mix. Then throw in the fact that in youth,
love in its pure form can exist with very few distractions or interruptions
(such as, ahem, life, kids, bills, taxes, you name it). Not to mention that most
youth are un-jaded and new to all this love and emotion stuff and well, soon enough you’ve
got yourself a Richard Curtis film.
At the moment my best friend and I are vicariously living
through her daughter who is experiencing her first 'soul connection' with a young
man (this is not just a crush I assure you). Now to clarify, they are both young and adorably innocent, but the
openness and honesty of their feelings towards one another is downright
adorable. Most of their relationship is via text and Instagram at this point
which means my friend and I are voyeuristic junkies (and eagle-eyed monitors) for their
every adorable move. He’s chivalrous and complimentary to such a fine-tuned
degree that I am seriously wondering where this kid learned his moves, and she
is sweetly composed, adult and dignified. I’m telling you, these two could
teach the lot of us about how to conduct ourselves. But the part that gets me
the most is watching the unbridled devotion in such a pure and idealistic state; the young
devotion that is blind to anything else out there. At the age of 10, they have
already pledged to be with one another forever. And if you find yourself ever in their orbit, you almost believe them. (It must be said that the little girl's mother, my friend, has known her husband since birth and they were each other's first kiss. Got to love that).
Now, I’m not saying we don’t all take this kind of love with
us into adulthood. I love my husband truly madly and deeply, but by my age one
is carrying quite a bit of luggage whereas love and relationships are
concerned and let's just say the bloom has fallen slightly off the idealistic rose. Not to mention, the compliments, devotion and chivalrous behavior
can often get mired down by fatigue, routine and the sheer assault of life,
laundry and bad traffic - sad but true. Of course, the goal is to make sure you
remember to focus on the love bit in spite of life. To remember that no matter
where you are in your relationship, it all started with that pure and wonderful seed of ‘omg the
mere sight of you is going to make me faint!’
I suppose it’s like anything. Love has an ageing process; it grows and turns
into something deeper. Fantastic and solid, but let’s be honest, it is that
first spark that we all have achingly fond memories of and sends us running to
see the rom-coms and Nicholas Spark’s movies (which are hideously cheesy I will admit). So for now – and until the King
develops his first crush (she better be a brunette and have the utmost respect for his mother) - I happily have a front row seat on Istagram to
young love in bloom. By the way, he just asked her out for their first date to see a movie.
G rated of course, and he if does so much as touch her, he’s got her
mother and me to answer to.
Ah love, ain’t it grand.