love

This is a post about love and how I realised what true love really is.

Grab yourself a coffee or some wine as this will take a while.

Many, many years ago I was visiting my family in England and I was at my sisters house, I believe at the time she was between husbands and she had a group of us over for dinner. We spent a long evening camped at the kitchen table and talked for hours. At one point my brother started telling a story, one that I found hilarious. He had just packed up smoking and needed to keep his hands busy so he took up knittiing. He was helping a friend move a piano and they stopped at a "greasy spoon" for a cup of tea. The place was packed with truckers and general tough guys and there sat my brother, knitting. The chap he was with is well over 6 ft tall, well over, so nothing was going to happen to Colin. They told how the tough guys stared and how he kept going with his, knit one pearl one.

The story continued and when suddenly I was slapped with a reality.

As Colin spoke his partner, who happened to be the other chap in the cafe with him, hung on his every word. He listened to him speak intently as if it was the first time he had ever heard the recounted words before. He looked at my brother with great interest and with love and pride.They had the most incredible bond.

 It was then, at that very moment that I knew what true love looked like and also when I knew I didn't have it or anything like it. It all comes down to repect and they respect each other so
 beautifully.

 I want to thank Jon for loving my brother for so so many years. He puts up with a lot. He is the husband we should all be lucky enough to have, the provider the protector and the fixer of all things. I want to thank them both for setting such a wonderful example of respect and caring. Now I know what it looks like should it ever come along.

Since that time I have got to know Jon much better and he is a gentle giant. I love hearing him talk about Colin, he just makes it all sound so funny and hum drum. Colin might be wonderful but Jon is amazeballs. I don't know how many times I have heard, well, you know what Colin's like which translates too, I'll do anything for him.

Sadly they received the crappiest of crappy news very recently and the prognosis is grim but they have made a promise to live it up. There is a bucket list to be attacked. They have amazing friends and an even more amazing outlook. They talk about the tough things, and they accept visitors only when they feel like it. They make sure the other is being cared for and that all the ducks are in a row.

It ain't over till the fat lady sings and since this fat lady can't carry a tune in a bucket I would like to suggest they write some more chapters to their love story. Ones that I can share with my children about how it's meant to be.

 I really don't understand why bad things happen to good people but they just continue to do so.

 Don't judge. Accept. Always be kind. That is what they would want.


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