i am sad when my friends say they don't believe in love

with discussions of flowers for a friend's wedding that i will be doing in july, and with valentine's day fast approaching, i have been pondering love a bit more than usual. like long, hard, love.

this is a beautiful photo series by lauren fleishman of couples who have been married a looong time. i like these stories. these people. it reminds me of my grandmother and her story, of when she met my grandfather. i wrote about it in the eulogy type piece i read at her memorial:  

The Importance of a Destination
 
My favorite of my grandma’s stories about people was her own—the story of how she met my grandfather. As she told it, she was living in San Diego in 1952. Her girlfriend called to say, “Marge, I have a navy lad you have to meet. He just might be your destiny.” After some hesitation, she went down to the bar to meet him. Her friend hadn't mentioned how handsome he was. I like to think that she swooned when she saw him. The next day they were going steady, two weeks later they were engaged. My grandfather sat my grandma down in his lap, “Aren’t I too heavy for you?” she asked. “Well how much do you weigh?” he responded. “112 pounds.”  (And this is where my grandfather leaned in and said, “You’re just right for me. Marry me, Margaret.”) They went down to Arizona and eloped. That is how is how she told it. Sometimes I want to control my own fate. I look for clear signs, a road up ahead reading “Destiny: 7 miles,” a slip during speech where one word becomes another. Other times, I think perhaps wherever I am going I am already there.