The volcanic, meteoric, blazing, gasoline fueled, bonfire is much needed - like a vacation from the everyday…it’s exciting and better than any work a day experience with the same ooh, ahhhs and other moans of a climactic sunset over coastal waters or that anthropomorphic mouse and friends serving dole whip…
But the slow, simmer, ember, ash and add a new log is where we live and move and love at the right temperature for a constant - not too cold and not too hot….the temperature that sustains and tempers us within those relationships around us…the flame that draws us closer like moths desiring light and warmth…
This is wonderful- your contrasts capture the two sides, the two “extremes” that Tyler speaks about: the “vacation from the everyday” and “stoking the flames” versus “where we live” and basking “in the comfort of the campfire glow”. I can feel that imagery.
I cried through most of the essay. Someone once said “You MAKE the fairytale happen” … you and Sarah are a shining example of what love can be if we adjust with the cadence of life but never let the embers go out. Thank you for sharing your story and infusing hope in this charred heart that it is still possible. ❤️
I agree! TV shows and movies in particular create these ideals of what love is like, how sex should be, what one’s experience of childbirth and parenting will be, how families and partners interact, and the list goes on. And when our experiences do not match these, we feel that we have come up short, that we are missing something vital. The expectations of Valentine’s Day makes it almost a chore for many and a dreaded day for those who are not in a grand romance, who are alone, who will not be receiving chocolates and roses, for those who “sit in a cold room and hold our hands to a hearth long since extinguished”. I had a boyfriend once who faithfully gave me roses on Valentine’s Day, never knowing that I actually prefer wild flowers. I dutifully accepted them as an expression of his feelings. How old-fashioned this tradition is. I would rather that love be freely expressed in more meaningful ways throughout the year.
It is the dying of the “great friendship…. the hidden source of fuel that keeps that warmth alive and thriving”, that slowly extinguishes the flame.
I have a male friend that sends me lovely things for Valentine's Day, and I him - I get more excited about this with him than I ever have with a lover! No pressure, not expectations, pure, considerate, fun. He's a keeper for life. Who knows, perhaps in 10 years we'll be sleeping in each other's arms! Lol ♡
I love the way your prose reads like a bigger and more glorious poem.
This is a HUGE compliment. Thank you so much.
Spot on, my friend!
The volcanic, meteoric, blazing, gasoline fueled, bonfire is much needed - like a vacation from the everyday…it’s exciting and better than any work a day experience with the same ooh, ahhhs and other moans of a climactic sunset over coastal waters or that anthropomorphic mouse and friends serving dole whip…
But the slow, simmer, ember, ash and add a new log is where we live and move and love at the right temperature for a constant - not too cold and not too hot….the temperature that sustains and tempers us within those relationships around us…the flame that draws us closer like moths desiring light and warmth…
Desiring the ecstatic & passionate
Longing for longevity & moments plural
Let us stoke that flame
In its given occasion
Let us bask in the comfort
Of the campfire glow forever
This is wonderful- your contrasts capture the two sides, the two “extremes” that Tyler speaks about: the “vacation from the everyday” and “stoking the flames” versus “where we live” and basking “in the comfort of the campfire glow”. I can feel that imagery.
I Love this my friend. You nailed it.
Beautiful ❤️
:) Thank you.
I cried through most of the essay. Someone once said “You MAKE the fairytale happen” … you and Sarah are a shining example of what love can be if we adjust with the cadence of life but never let the embers go out. Thank you for sharing your story and infusing hope in this charred heart that it is still possible. ❤️
Ahh Violetta, you're so kind and amazing. Thank you for you. Always hold hope, always, you have so much waiting for you.
I agree! TV shows and movies in particular create these ideals of what love is like, how sex should be, what one’s experience of childbirth and parenting will be, how families and partners interact, and the list goes on. And when our experiences do not match these, we feel that we have come up short, that we are missing something vital. The expectations of Valentine’s Day makes it almost a chore for many and a dreaded day for those who are not in a grand romance, who are alone, who will not be receiving chocolates and roses, for those who “sit in a cold room and hold our hands to a hearth long since extinguished”. I had a boyfriend once who faithfully gave me roses on Valentine’s Day, never knowing that I actually prefer wild flowers. I dutifully accepted them as an expression of his feelings. How old-fashioned this tradition is. I would rather that love be freely expressed in more meaningful ways throughout the year.
It is the dying of the “great friendship…. the hidden source of fuel that keeps that warmth alive and thriving”, that slowly extinguishes the flame.
I have a male friend that sends me lovely things for Valentine's Day, and I him - I get more excited about this with him than I ever have with a lover! No pressure, not expectations, pure, considerate, fun. He's a keeper for life. Who knows, perhaps in 10 years we'll be sleeping in each other's arms! Lol ♡
This sounds like an interesting relationship. Perhaps it is a simmering “great friendship” that will flare up into something hotter- but lasting.
Ooooh, I feel like we all need way more details here.
Fully agree...give me real expressions of real love, targeted and specific to the intricacies of each other. You're amazing.
I'm just now getting a chance to read this...and I am speechless. I feel this in my bones like nothing has ever been more true.
Ahh Taylor, I am so so glad. You're amazing.