Love*

I used to think love was something you fall into. Like a hole in the ground, or a trap. Something that happens to you. 

Now I think it's something you build. Brick by brick, day by day. It's showing up. It's doing the dishes when you don't feel like it. It's listening when you'd rather be somewhere else. 

My grandmother was married for 58 years. When I asked her the secret, she laughed and said: "We just never gave up at the same time. "

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. About how love is a practice, not a feeling. The feeling comes and goes. The practice stays. 

When I was younger I thought I needed to find the perfect person. Someone who would complete me, like in the movies. Now I think any two people could probably make it work, if they were both committed to trying. 

That's not romantic, I know. But maybe romance is overrated. 

What if love is just a decision you make every morning? To be kind. To be patient. To stay. 

I'm not good at this yet. I get impatient. I get distracted. I want the easy dopamine hit of something new. 

But I'm practicing. 

Slowly, slowly <3

*future me