May
31
Grown-Up Love
Dear Revlon,
We won’t even get into the irony of choosing Halle Berry to represent “true love stories [that] never have endings” because that’s pretty insulting to the two guys she divorced and the guy she had a child with before she married her current husband, but I digress. If you’re going to put up billboards on the topic of love, how about — just for once — show that love between partners isn’t just about having someone kiss your neck. It’s also about feeding the kids dinner and helping with homework when you’re sick from chemo, and supporting a partner battling depression or unemployment. How about continuing to rebuild a marriage that has been shaken at its core? Or maybe even that your husband is not worried about that weight you gained with that third child he wanted so badly? How about you meet us women where we are and celebrate real and grown-up love? Because sometimes reality is a whole lot more interesting that your childish fantasies.
Amen to that!
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Thanks, Weeks,… I just love your perspective on “real life” and wish more had it. It seems that the fantasy version makes the real version somehow seem bad because it’s not all dreamy sunsets and rose pedals. However, after seeing my family dig deep yesterday to clean storage rooms, sweat and stink while moving old weight benches and bins of stuff, spend hours finding places to put things while moving back from college, tolerate my crabbiness as the treadmill that was in storage for 2 years was finally going back together (not smoothly)… And be happy with takeout dinner because this exhausted mom was too tired and dirty to cook a June Cleaver dinner at 8pm when we finished (after starting at 7am)…
I couldn’t love my husband (and kids!) more!!
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I wrote this in part as the mother of a girl who wants her to have a richer understanding of love and intimacy beyond just sex. Vulnerability, honesty, sacrifice and fortitude are also part of being in a romantic relationship. I’m really sick of these companies feeding us junk fantasies and missing the real-life beauty that is more abundant and satisfying. Bravo to your family to digging deep and working as a team. Those will also be treasured memories.
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Amen!
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Snuggling her to stop her snoring. Cleaning the bathroom when he’s been violently ill. Advertisers always sell fantasies. The reality is so much hairier — and so much better.
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perfectly said Weeks !
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Brava!!!!!
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