Love Thursday

I’ve watched over the last year as Love Thursday‘s spread about the internet and several of my favorites participated, and then without realizing it, they disappeared. They are back again, and all the syrupy sweetness so think you must brush your teeth for fear of Internet Inspired Cavities once more cavorts about the webspaces of folks I read often. I’ve never participated before, because I’m not one for the mush. Sure, I’ve a closet full of romance novels that might say different, but really, I’m just not an overly mushy lovey dovey type of girl.

[Stop laughing, you.
Right this minute.
Don’t make me get out the paddle…]

Ahem. Anyway.

As I was laying in bed last night, trying to get my mind to Just. Shut. Up. Already! so that I could sleep, somehow the fact that it was already Thursday occurred to my tired brain, and for some unknown reason that translated to “Hey, it’s Love Thursday. I should write something!” just before my eyes finally closed. I even had half written in my head within a couple sleepy breaths. Thus, I give you this wordy snapshot:

My parents are unique individuals, and as different as night and day. I’m one of the lucky ones, who’s folks are still married after almost 39 years now. There are so opposite at times in demeanor and thought, that it’s almost boggling to think they haven’t killed each other yet. Dad is easy, outgoing, and will talk to ANYONE – especially female. Mom, while friendly and outgoing herself, isn’t one to stop a complete stranger in the store and talk like they’re long lost friends like Dad does – she must trust you completely to give away the intimate details of her thoughts. Dad shares everything with anyone who is interested. They don’t always see eye to eye, and sometimes it seems like they NEVER see eye to eye, but somehow, someway, they manage to co-exist and live in the same house, on the same street, as they have since we moved up here to Alaska back in 1978.

After all these years of marriage, they are comfortable with one another for the most part. They’ve moved past the ‘OMG I CAN’T KEEP MY HANDS OFF YOU’ making out on the couch – or, god forbid, in PUBLIC – newlywed stage, and settled into the ‘This is MY chair, and hello, get your own blanket for the bed bucko, this one’s MINE’ stage. And that’s where my snapshot actually truly begins.

It was the second day in the hospital for mom. I’d arrived and set up Scooter to charge and check emails, and generally just allow me to be there for mom, without intruding. There was laughter with the Nurse We Loved, and snarky comments, and a general sense of health and happiness and well being in the room. Dad knew I hadn’t eaten yet, and so was urging me to head down to the cafeteria with him, because he needed to eat too. We let mom know, just as she started to drift asleep again. All that laying around wired up to machines had exhausted her, you see. (grin)

As I was slipping my shoes back on, I looked up to see Mom sleeping, mouth agape and eyes closed, as Dad stood nearby and just watched her. He then reached out with his hand – hands I remember soothing my own brow as I wasn’t feeling well and drifted to sleep – and brushed her hair back from her forehead, his fingers smoothing the line in her brow with a touch. You could see that the touch, as simple as it was, soothed and sent her deeper into sleep, instantly. I wanted a camera in that moment, but knew if even if I had an actual photograph, it would never convey the sense of wonderment. It was a perfect moment, the perfect picture of a love that transcends all their differences, that doesn’t need overt demonstrations, that doesn’t need over the top wild monkey sex performed in front of open windows every Tuesday**.

It simply is.
And it was perfect.

Happy Love Thursday, everyone!

[**Not that, you know, there’s anything wrong with wild monkey sex or anything. Just not with my parents involved – please! As my kids would say… “bad picture! BAD PICTURE!”]