Love

While I am mostly a happy and upbeat person (one time someone told me I smile and laugh too much. UUUHHH yeah - insert confused look) I do have a serious side that peeks out every now and again.

Well, it's peeking out. Thoughts of love and what it means to love have been heavy on my mind the last few days. As humans we are on a constant quest to feel love. I am at a point in my life when my need for that feeling of love makes itself known every once and a while. Those are the times I think about the love I have given and the love that has been given to me. My views on love may have been shaped in part by my parents or even what I saw in society. But I can place a large portion of the blame on Lionel Richie. I know. I know. Your asking , "JJ, I thought Lionel was your main squeeze, your 'lover in your head'. I thought your were his biggest fan." I know it may seem confusing but it actually all makes sense. Let me explain.

Lionel came into my life back in 1983. I was pre-pubescent child of 12. Basically, the only child in my group of friends crushing on a man 22 years my senior-no peer pressure going on back then. Of course the physical attraction was there from the beginning but it was a little tough at 12 years of age to look at Lionel in a "you make me HOT and I wanna jump on you" sorta way. I mean, he's older then my parents. (It's a much different story now - "bones" could definitely get jumped now!) What really "got" me were the songs. At a time when I didn't really know what a romantic love was, I was in the front row of class with Mr. Romantic himself as professor. Everyday it was "Endless Love", "3 Times a Lady", "Still", "You Are", "Stuck on You", "Hello", "Truly"; it was a 24 hour love fest. Through his words Lionel taught me that "Love (could) Conquer All", that with love on your side there were no obstacles. His songs spoke to all the wonderful feelings that are associated with love without any mention of the work that will ensure the longevity of love. He taught me to be idealistic about love. He created a hopeless, romantic.

Fast forward to 2008. The 12 year old is now 36, she still listens to Lionel Richie and has loved and been loved. But the notion of love whispered through the earphones of her Sony Walkman in 1983 has always been just out of reach. A "Truly" kind of love does exist in the real world. What Lionel forgot to tell me and what I am just now learning is that that "Truly" kind of love takes a lot of work. There's been love in all of my relationships but just having that love hasn't been enough to feed and sustain those relationships.

I haven't given up on love, but slowly I'm learning that love is not all flowers, butterflies and fuzzy feelings. Love comes with trials and tribulations. And with communication, appreciation dedication, confidence and belief thrown in the pot, Lionel's romantic world can be attained.

Love on!