“I am the woman men
date when they are falling in love with other women.” ~Shelly Hess
If you follow my blog you may recall in my February post “Love is in the Air,” I made peace and let
go of all of my sarcastic and jaded perceptions about love and relationships. I proclaimed 2014 would be my year of
observation—a time for me to admire, celebrate, observe, and learn from all of
the lovely couples and families I know. Well, spring has turned into summer and
all I can say is WOW, what a beautiful and profound journey it has been.
It’s amazing what you can learn when you stop and look at
life from a new perspective; see those around you through a different lens. Once I removed my negative hazed glasses I got to know couples
who were high school sweethearts, first loves whose hearts found their way back
together after years from being apart, and couples whose love story grew and
flourished over time. I had the pleasure of meeting a couple whose strong bonds had grown and developed throughout the span of a half a century. Even as they were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary they still smiled and acted giddy around each other. I watched new love
grow and blossom. I witnessed the love
that exists between families and great friends.
One of the most important lessons I learned from each
couple, family member and friend was that love stories aren’t neatly wrapped
together and tied with a bow as the fairy tales taught us. Their paths were't always straight and the
roads weren't always smooth.
For those of you who have followed my blog you have read my
stories about dating when I was writing about matters of my own heart (I
refrain from writing those stories now), stories about my crazy life raising beagles, all of my crazy adventures, or my personal journey overcoming a long struggle battling ED (eating
disorders). Now I am asking to write or share your
stories, particularly your love stories whether they be about romantic love,
family or friendship. Teach me; teach us the lessons we didn’t learn from
Cinderella.
If you are interested in sharing your story or allowing me
to write your story send me a personal message at shellylhess@sbcglobal.net . I will either post your story here on my
blog or create a separate page.
