What is Love?

Stephanie and her beloved Mr. Nielson

I read my special blogs every morning. One I never miss and have blogged about is NieNie Dialogues. http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ NieNie is the woman who, with her husband, barely survived a small airplane crash. Most of her body was burned and it is nothing short of a miracle that she is alive, raising her four children and is now pregnant with her fifth. Their 11^th anniversary was yesterday and she shared the quote below. It struck a chord in my heart. It is beautifully said. I pass it along to you.

Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.

Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.

Louis De Bernieres