Countdown of Love, Day 6: NG is too kind

Today's post comes from NG, who regularly posts on Alice's Adventures Underground.  I have never met NG in real life, but she has been a frequent blog commenter for many years.  She also won a stuffed whale naming contest on my old blog at one point!

Enjoy.

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A couple of days ago, Sparklebot contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in writing something for her website. It would be a guest post in a string of posts leading up to Valentine’s day on the subject at hand: love.

I quickly said “sure” because I’ve loved her blogs over the years and am honored to be asked. Also because it’s always fun to do some cross posting like this. We're hip, we're cool, we're shakin' up the blog world. (Too much? Right. Nevermind.)

Those were my first thoughts anyway.

And then, almost immediately after, my thoughts became a bit more singular: “Crap. What have I done?” Because not only do I not excel at writing on demand, but also because of the fact that I am quite possibly the least romantic person on the earth. I mean, seriously, what do I know about Valentine's Day? My track record for Valentine’s Day presents to my husband includes a pez dispenser, a bag of cold cuts and a rock. In the way of grand romantic gestures, I’m pretty much riding the short bus to school every day.

So I went around for a day trying to get inspired by saying to myself, “Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam... and wuv, twu wuv, will fowow you foweva...” and "I'd rather be with someone for the wrong reasons then alone for the right." and "Love's a bitch, Duck. Love's a bitch." and "Who do you love? You love a car!" and "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." because the only thing I know about love, I learned from 80s movies. There was also a good deal of begging my husband to write it for me or at least give me an appropriate subject - both of which were fruitless.

Incidentally, I have come to believe that love does not, in fact, mean never having to say you’re sorry, but it does mean having to say you will do someone’s writing assignment for them.

It finally occurred to me that I'm in a unique position to be able to give Sparklebot and Troubletron advice. I mean, here they are, celebrating their first Valentine's Day together as a married couple and here I am, an old married lady of twelve years (ugh, how has it not been fifty? It really seems like fifty!) who knows what it's all about. I got married at the same age Sparklebot did. I married a man who already had a great family like Troubletron did. Maybe I can give them some idea of what to expect. Maybe I can be their Love Guru.

And that's when I figured out what to write about.

Over on my blog, I have a recurring feature that includes lists of thirteen things. I call it, "Thirteen Things." (Remember the short bus? It also applies to creativity.) It actually grew from a combination of a post I did one Friday the 13th and the movie Thir13en Ghosts, which is curiously stuck in my head for some reason not at all having to do with the crush I have on Matthew Lillard. But I digress.

So I present, in honor of Sparklebot and Troubletron, and their nearly one year of true love:

NG's List of Thirteen Reasons You Know It's True Love

1. When your significant other accidentally uses your toothbrush, you don't really care.
2. If you are sick, your beloved will take care of you and not only photograph you using a Neti-pot, but also try it him/herself.
3. Your sweet companion lets you photograph him/herself nearly naked for the sake of a blog post.
4. Your mate creates handmade items for you, but appropriately butches them up a bit so you won't be embarrassed wearing them in front of your friends.
5. Your partner pays attention to things you lust after and then buys them for you as a surprise.
6. Your permanent roommate will watch five hours (FIVE HOURS!) of Jane Austin with you.
7. The both of you have similar taste in art.
8. You both understand the importance of skin care.
9. You have similar spiritual outlooks.
10. Your helpmate approves of your choice of reading material... or tolerates it.
11. You have compatible organizational philosophies.
12. You are willing to try things about which your long-time companion feels strongly.
13. You and your consort can enjoy yourselves together in the oddest of places.

So here's to Sparklebot and Troubletron! Happy Valentine's Day to you both. May you enjoy many more years together and may you find many more ways to express your love for each other. As for me, I've been inspired. My husband is getting another rock.



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