Showing posts with label Love Bytes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love Bytes. Show all posts

09 February 2014

Love Byte #4 - Love is being pregnant .

11:07 PM 1 Comments
Image from here

Lawrence Housman said ,
"If nature arranged that husbands and wives should have children alternatively , there would never be more than three in a family. " 
I find the above so hilariously true coz we go through hell and back with all that pregnancy brings us , nausea , vomiting , heart burn , back ache , swollen feet , sleepless nights , constant need to pee and more , we moan and groan persistently and yet there is unequivocally a sense of power , a magic in being able to create and give birth to another life, that keeps us coming back for more .. 

Of all the myriad reasons there are two that made me love my pregnant self , the first was hands down the baby kicks , right from when they're lil flutters that make you smile to the time they become jabs that make you grin and wince at the same time , they're like a constant reminder that we're not alone , not now , not ever !!
The other being the husband's compliments .. he's stingy when it comes to those, but not then and every time he would say I was glowing and beautiful , it would make me blush like a teenager .. 

Having said that , this may not be a universal sentiment and I agree no pregnancy is sheer bliss, mine wasn't either but comparatively I had a much easier pregnancy .. either that or one year of child rearing has given me irrevocable memory loss..

What was your favorite part or memory about your first time pregnancy ?

05 February 2014

Love Byte #3 - Love is that first heart beat !

11:54 AM 2 Comments
There's no way I can explain it except that the very first time you get to hear your baby's heart beat , its SURRRRRREAL !!!
                                                                                             Image via Google
All firsts are memorable but this first it is pretty damn spectacular .. it's a ONCE in a lifetime , take your breath away kind of moment and it still gives me the goose bumps every single time !! What made this occasion even more momentous was timing it with the husband's birthday ..I know I'm never going to be able to top that gift but every birthday will be such a joyous reminder of that deliriously happy first time we whispered hello to our lil one ,
such a joyous reminder to me to remind the husband :P

02 February 2014

Love Byte #2 - Love is the in between ..

5:36 PM 7 Comments
The in between planning a child and having one .. 
When you first decide you want to have a baby , you're so thrilled that even before you've tried to conceive you've already had the baby.. in your mind you've envisioned the whole deal !!
Your perception is further skewed by the instant pregnant syndrome that plagues movies and media in general and while some of you are lucky enough to get pregnant when you choose to , the luckier ones like me take a while -some a few months , some a year and others maybe more.. which is why I wanted to particularly write about this because I now realize I wasn't the only one who went through those traumatizing emotions. It devours you so much so that the world seems to be conspiring against you .. I could spot one or all pregnant women in a crowd ..lil babies and kids gave me heart ache..The idea of meeting / talking to expectant and new moms was nauseating .I felt rage and jealousy ..I felt people were having more babies just to spite me and every time I tested negative the sense of loss was excruciatingly painful ..I chastised myself like there was something wrong with me. One of the most offered advice ( doesn't everyone have one about everything , asked for or not ..Gawdddd !! ) was "It'll happen the minute you stop fretting about it." Oh yeah ! like that's possible :O I wanted to kick everyone who said that to me because frankly , I was all consumed by this need to have my baby ,every waking moment ..no matter what I did , esp the two weeks before I tested and if I got delayed did my hopes bounce up and down like a roller coaster ride .

I remember a conversation with my grandma who said to me , " You,the next generation try so hard to not get pregnant and when you finally decide you want to , you expect a miracle ! That's now how it works ! " I now comprehend what she meant but at that particular time there's nothing anyone can say or do that can make you feel better ..The heart wants what it wants, when it wants .I recall finding a lil solace in lying to myself , telling myself that when the time was right , I would be pregnant but in all candor its hard , its exhausting and its stressful and each failed attempt is more discouraging than the last. One of the few times I've wished in my life , to be a man just so I could be totally nonchalant - it would make the whole ordeal so much more easier. I never even vaguely remember the husband getting worked up about it and yet catastrophic is how it would feel to me , the end of the world , the end of me !


It took us a lil more than a year to get pregnant , boy ! the lil rascal made us wait alright :P and it was the most agonizing wait ever !! atleast that's what I thought and then fast forward I was in labor and believe me agonizing has a whole new meaning then ! 

What I really wish to say is that if you've gone through , are going through or have been through this , you know you're not alone and as outrageous as it may sound now , don't forget to laugh coz soon , yes sooooon this will be all over and they'll be a bonny baby in the house making you laugh so hard you''ll cry ..ha !!

01 February 2014

Love Byte #1 - Love is the decision to start a family !

11:26 AM 11 Comments
Once upon a time there was a happy and content couple ..
and they loved each other so much they decided to have a child .. 

Well either that Or they were crazy coz making the decision to having a baby and HAVING a baby is so completely disparate . It is monumental alright but you really don't know what you're getting into.. ha ! Those parenting books , new parent classes , baby sitting , taking care of your sibling's child or kids in the family is not even close to what you'll experience - believe me !! and yet therein lies the appeal , the element of surprise and the reason why once you've come out alive of that ordeal you're willing to put yourself through it all over again in a jiff :P 

On a serious note , I've always believed that the decision to want a child should always be yours and yours alone as a couple . Where I come from , there's tremendous pressure to bear kids once you're married for a reasonably acceptable time and the definition of that time may vary from a few days to months maybe if you're lucky -years ;) and its okay if it were just that , you can deal with parental pressure ( that's what parents are for !! ) but there's the scrutinizing eyes of the one dozen aunts and uncles , married cousins , family friends , your own friends turned parents , neighbors , well wishers and their immense concern for what you are and aren't doing in the bedroom .. GOSH ! it can become a bit too much .. and yes it gets to you and annoys you but don't let that be the rationale behind wanting a child . There's so much to take under advisement , there's obviously the financial aspect , then there's the physical ( Oh yes! a baby will make those bones hurt and weak overnight :D )  but most vital of them all is to be mentally prepared , to be a parent , to take care of another life and to be responsible round the clock 24*7 and just in case you skipped all the above and were careless , not that I'm judging but tsk tsk .. you have give or take 9 months to prepare yourself :P :P coz a wise man or woman once said , 

"Whether your pregnancy was meticulously planned , medically coaxed or happened by surprise , one thing is certain your life will never be the same. "

12 February 2012

Love Byte #9 - Love is a dose of reality !

12:36 AM 4 Comments

Image via Google
Consciously or unconsciously we all bring a wide range of expectations into our relationships everyday , these expectations maybe about the way things should be or how people should behave and often without any realization we thrust these unspoken , half hidden expectations presuming that our loved ones would somehow know and fulfill them ..thru ESP perhaps or mind reading ?

So ok , I'll admit , I'd probably like to give my spouse a tremendous amount of grief too for not knowing what I want , when most of the times he does ,  but that's the case  - not because he's read my mind - but because living with someone gives you the advantage of knowing a person and the more you know someone , the more are you able to anticipate his or her needs .. my spouse definitely did not know I want my coffee more than him in the mornings but over time he does .. 
 ..so the thumb rule here is to verbalise expectations .. 
it takes way less time and is far less agonising than the misery you're ready to put each other through !

But hang on , as important as it is to verbalize , its even more critical to ensure the expectations are realistic , not based on what you see around you or on other people's relationship or even what you see on television ..because its unfair to compare or be compared , because what you share is unique , and therefore deserves a bit of credit ..

The best part is once you communicate , discuss and set your expectations out in the open , you're able to weed out what is unreasonable or can't be done and put in equal effort to do what you can and do it better because you're now part of the same team , working with the same motive , to make the relationship great and when you're part of the same team , you've already won !!

11 February 2012

08 February 2012

Love Byte #7 - To love is to endure ...

11:33 PM 5 Comments
Savage Chickens - Love and Tolerance
Image via Savagechickens

True for every relationship , but especially marriage when it comes to this particular virtue - the virtue of tolerance .. because once you're married the number of times one requires to be patient and tolerant is ironically sometimes beyond tolerance .. 
whether its learning to appreciate the fact that your partner may not always think or behave in a way you like or are used to , or the fact that you might face sticky situations that you've never dealt with , all by yourself or as a couple .. or even the fact that you must learn to respect , deal with a new family , their traditions and their way of doing things ..

For most I know dealing with your partner's family tops the chart because while living day in and day out with your partner makes you oblivious / habitual to each other's as annoying as they can get mannerisms and idiosyncrasies , nothing quite prepares you for the "in-law' syndrome .. and nothing I write here WILL ,  
so .. 
let's just say no matter how good or bad the circumstances are or get  , a little patience and tolerance goes a long long way in paving the path to any and every successful relationship/ marriage .. but tolerance is only possible when you share an open, communicative and reciprocal relationship , where one has the freedom to voice one's opinion without the fear of being judged or where one has the assurance that the other is as inviting of criticism as of correction .. and the absence of either turns tolerance into indifference ..

Love is not easy , neither are relationships but if you remember things that matter most like communication , mutual respect , faith , unconditional love , the rest falls into place , all on its own .. 

In the words of Paul Sweeney,
'A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. 
The order varies for any given year. '

How true !! 
Infact ,  to be honest , of all the things , I find tolerance to be the most challenging aspect of any relationship .. and you , what do you think the most challenging aspect is ?

07 February 2012

Love Byte#6 - Love begins with YOU !

9:48 PM 5 Comments



Images via Google
Love begins with YOU ..
if only you can love yourself for who you are , rest assured you will find people who will love you for the same reason .. 
if only you can love yourself  for who you are not , rest assured you will love other people so much better.. 

P.S - This was supposed to go up y'day but .. life happened !

05 February 2012

Love Byte#5 - Love is a many stupid thing..

11:58 PM 6 Comments
Here's a cheeky illustration found on Pinterest titled  ' Valentine's day by the numbers ' by coolmaterial.com that captures the varied emotions in this season of love .. the silliness, the pain , the trauma , the excitement , the expenditure , the novelty , the commercialism , the thoughts ,  the results , the love , the alcohol , the sex , the regret and much more .. Love is indeed a many splendored  stupid thing ..

Pinned Image
I am curious , how do you celebrate Valentine's day - do you like the commercial way or the quiet , intimate way or do you not celebrate at all ..
I don't go all out on Valentine's day after all love isn't just about one day in the year ..still in the name of tradition I might give / receive roses and maybe give / definitely not receive a card ;) 

Speaking of flowers did you catch this Valentine's day - Teleflora Superbowl Commercial..

04 February 2012

Love Byte #4- Love is a drug !

10:18 PM 5 Comments

Pinned Image
Image via Pinterest

Somedays even with all the words I can gather , its impossible to define love ..
Somedays all I want to do is scream from the rooftops ..
because

“Love is too weak a word for what I feel — I luuurve you, you know, I loave you, I luff you, two F’s, yes I have to invent, of course I do, don’t you think I do?”
- from the movie Annie Hall 

03 February 2012

Love Byte #3 - Love is seriously funny !

11:09 PM 5 Comments
 
Image courtesy- Google

Its not funny you know , I tell him , but before I get to finish my sentence the man is already laughing his head off ..

For as long as we've known each other , its been the same story - I've always been the scapegoat for all his jokes ... and now its gotten to a point where I'm so used to it that my day feels incomplete ..but this very same quality , of being able to make me laugh , against my will , even when I am at my angriest self is something I absolutely love ..

Everyday life is fraught with a dozen different responsibilities , commitments , obligations and if anything makes life easier its laughter , because as efficient as we maybe,  every once in a while , things go wrong and when they do , a sense of humor is magic , instantly softening even the worst kind of blow...and not only that , a sense of humor also helps change the mood and introduce an altogether different perspective , a point of view you were too busy to look at ..  because call me dramatic if you like but I've this uncanny ability to make a bad situation seem worse , like it was the end of the world or equivalent and if it weren't for his exaggerations of how dismal my life always gets , I would always be in the doldrums !!

But most significantly of all ,  laughter adds that extra zing to a relationship that makes it refreshing and everyday a tad bit more enjoyable ...or maybe not ..
Maybe, the most significant benefit would be the fact that laughter saves me from not punching his lights out or strangling him in his sleep ;) 

02 February 2012

Love Byte #2 - Love is more chemistry than biology ;)

4:58 PM 4 Comments
This might seem more like a continuation of the first love byte, actually in essence it is , except this is the R-rated version but then as I was penning it , I realized how important this expression of love is between a husband and a wife .. and how relatively easy it is to submit to the everyday realities of our mundane routine as we go about living each day..

Even more insane is the veritable fact that among discussions , the one significant phase of married life that stands out for each married couple, the one they remember with utmost fondness is the courting / honeymoon period ..
but why , what happened , what's changed ? 

I know, you know that love still holds the two of you together and you're proud of the life and your family, the home you've built together but what about the passion , the amorous kisses , the loving caresses .. 

I am no stranger to what I write , I've been married five years (dated the same guy for a decade - phewwwww !!) but then I've always wanted the spine tingling , earth shattering , would walk through fire for you love , 
the kind of love they show in movies ..  
the kind of love that leaves you breathless ..
the kind of love that feels way different because the passion the protagonists emote seems unreal  ...

but its not because its your choice  .. 
because a simple expression like kissing everyday can bring you closer , refueling the passion and reaffirming the commitment you made to each other on your wedding day..

and every once in a while as much as you can , kiss passionately , kiss with total abandon , like your spouse was your lover not someone who you're married to or someone who's the parent of your child ..kiss like there's no tomorrow .. because ..
Image courtesy- Pinterest

"Unless its mad , passionate , extraordinary love its a waste of your time . There are way too many mediocre things in your life ..LOVE shouldn't be one of them . " 
- Dream for an Insomniac 

01 February 2012

Love Byte #1 - Love is an everyday expression ..

11:52 AM 7 Comments
"If you love someone,you say it,you say it right there,out loud.
Otherwise the moment just passes you by. "
- My Best Friend's Wedding
This movie always gets me in way that's inexplicable .. maybe because when I thought I'd found the one , I chose to express it right then , right there , out loud ..or maybe because what would/could have happened if I'd waited for an opportune time ..

All I know now is that in every relationship that you share , love needs to be expressed - simple knowledge of this fact is never enough nor should it be an excuse ..
It might mean taking out that little extra time or putting in that extra effort but with the countless ways one can 
express love , methinks sometimes its way easier than just saying it .. not that you shouldn't say it .. infact you should say it a lot , you should say it everyday if you can..because words are not a substitute for expression..

but little things like a compliment , a smile , a phone call , a thoughtful gift , a thank you note , a miss you card , spending time , taking a walk , sending flowers , doing a favor , having coffee , a hug , a kiss and so many more go a long long way ..

because , no matter how small or big the act , it reaffirms and rejuvenates your love ..
because , no matter how small or big the act , people never forget how you've made them feel .. and every one of us ,more than we'd like to acknowledge , absolutely love being made to feel 'special ' .

Image courtesy- Google

So go on , make someone feel special today ..make someone feel LOVED !!
and then do it as often as you can ..

Much love !

P.S - Love Byte #1 recall Gambler's Choice and A question of Love 

31 January 2012

The tradition continues..

8:53 PM 2 Comments
Its that time of the year again when love is in the air and love is in every post ..

Yup , Love Bytes is back lovies .. woooooot wooooooooot :)

And as elated as I am right now , would you believe it if I said I was every bit uncertain about doing it this year ..infact I was mulling over it up until this morning .. and to be honest with the kind of schedule I have right now , I was ( still am ) doubtful if I can do love bytes for all 29 days but then I decided why not ? I mean I started the tradition , I made up the rules and I can always bend them right .. so I promise you your daily dose of love up until Valentine's day and then we'll take it one day at a time ..

So don't forget and be back .. the excitement starts tomorrow !

24 February 2011

Love Byte #24 - Forevermore - Guest Post by Sheba

9:23 AM 6 Comments
Hi! I'm Sheba [you can read my musings at Perpetual Bounce] and I am delighted to be writing a guest post for Priya. I recently started reading Priya's blog and am so glad I stumbled upon it because her posts are so uplifting that they can get me out of a funk or remind me of the little things that make me smile.

Eight years ago my life changed through the chance meeting of another soul; one that didn't seem separate from mine, but rather my missing piece, my perfect complement. It was like we knew each other in another life, another time, and were finally being reunited. I didn't know what it meant to truly be in love until I met E.

In the short time we've been together, we've had so many wonderful *ups*, but it is the storms that we've weathered together, side by side, that solidify for me that this really is my *perfect match*.

No matter what life throws me, if I have my E beside me, I know it's going to be alright.

On Marriage
Kahlil Gibran

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

23 February 2011

Love Byte # 23 - Love has no distance - Guest post by Betty

12:43 PM 10 Comments
Guest post by Betty Manousos of CUT AND DRY

I am so happy to be posting here today...Love Bytes is a totally exciting idea of Priya's. I have been following Priya's blog for a while and although we've never met we've been good on-line friends. Thanks Priya, it's always been my pleasure to visit your lovely blog.

I'd love to share with you a beautiful poem by E.E. Cummings.
I Carry Your Heart with Me.

I carry your heart with me (I'm carry it in my heart)
I am never without it (anywhere I go you go, my
dear, and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling.)

I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet),
I want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you.
~~~

Ahh, being in love is the best inspiration! It's amazing! The feeling that our life is complete and nothing could ever going wrong. The beauty of love, but what happens when the relationship is long distance? I think it's still the same, only hundreds-if not thousands of miles away.
Love has no distance.

21 February 2011

Love Byte # 21 - Books and Me - Guest Post by Sneha

5:50 PM 2 Comments

Hey , I hope you're loving the series ..
Me , I enjoyed doing my first post so much that I'm back again for my second one ..hope you enjoy it :)

I confess I am, unabashedly, a romantic at heart. I just adore romance novels. There are just so many which I like. From the classics like Gone with the Wind, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and The Blue Castle (by L.M Montgomery, I just love, love, love the book) to the more popular Judith Macnaught’s. I especially like reading such novels set in historical time, it adds that little extra something.
Following are excerpts which stayed on with me after I finished reading them. I keep going back to the magic of these books time and again : )

This extract is from Charlotte Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Here Catherine explains her relation with Heathcliff and Linton, when Nelly questions her about it.

“I cannot express it; but surely you and everybody have a notion that there is, or should be, an existence of yours beyond yourself. What were the use of my creation if I were entirely contained here? My greatest miseries in the world have been Heathcliff’s miseries, and I watched and felt each from the beginning; my great thought in living is in himself. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and, if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger. I should not seem a part of it. My love for Linton is like foliage in the woods.Time will change it, I’m well aware, as winter changes the trees – my love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath- a source of little visible delight but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff – he’s always, always on my mind – not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself – but as my own being …”

The following two excerpts are from the book Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

“I am glad it cannot happen twice, the fever of first love. For it is a fever, and a burden, too, whatever the poets may say. They are not brave, the days when we are twenty one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so easily bruised, so swiftly wounded, one falls to the first barbed word. Today, wrapped in the complacent armor of approaching middle age, the infinitesimal pricks of day by day brush one lightly and are soon forgotten, but then - how a careless word would linger, become a fiery stigma, and how a look, a glance over a shoulder, branded themselves as things eternal. A denial heralded the thrice crowing of a cock, and an insincerity was like the kiss of Judas.

Not for me the languor and the subtlety (of love) I had read about in books. The challenge and the chase. The sword-play, the swift glance, the stimulating smile. The art of provocation was unknown to me, and I would sit with his map upon my lap, the wind blowing my dull, lanky hair, happy in his silence, yet eager for his words. Whether he talked or not made little difference to my moods. My only enemy was the clock on the dashboard, whose hands would move relentlessly to one o’ clock. We drove east, we drove west, amidst the myriad villages that cling like limpets to the Mediterranean shore, and today I remember none of them.

This one is from my all time favourites “Blue Castle” by L.M Montgomery.

“Valancy was perfectly happy. Some things dawn on you slowly. Some things came by lightning flashes. Valancy had had a lightning flash. She knew quite well no that she loved Barney. Yesterday she had been all her own. Now she was this man’s. Yet he had done nothing – said nothing. He had not even looked at her as a woman. But that didn’t matter. Nor did it matter what he was or what he had done. She loved him without any reservations. Everything in her went out wholly to him. She had no wish to stifle or disown her love. She seemed to be his so absolutely that thought apart from him – thought in which he did not predominate – was an impossibility. She had realized, quite simply and fully, that she loved him, in that moment when he was leaning on the car door explaining that Lady Jane (car) had no gas. She looked deep into his eyes in the moonlight and had known. In that infinitesimal space of time everything was changed. Old things passed away and all things became new.

She was no longer unimportant, little old maid Valancy Stirling. She was a woman full of love and therefore rich and significant – justified to herself. Life was no longer empty and futile, and death could cheat her of nothing. Love had cast out her last fear…

18 February 2011

Love Byte # 18 - Love Is A Maroon Tux - Guest Post by Brenda Susan at Walking Butterfly

8:00 AM 7 Comments
I am Walking Butterfly and I'm so happy to be invited to do one of the Love Bytes for Priya's wonderful February series! I have been enjoying all the great variety of posts about the huge subject of love! I mean how could we ever get to the end of such an amazing thing as love? Thank you sweet Priya, I love your blog and feel honored to be included in it.

So my story of LOVE?...........




Thirty-three years ago my husband, whom I will call Hubs, was doing some serious bargaining. He even had the scary nerve to give God an ultimatum!

I was twenty-two and engaged to a guy who was determined to remodel me into his idea of the perfect woman. (Clinton Kelly on What Not To Wear is the only one allowed to tell me how to dress these days!)

Hubs had returned to our hometown after graduating from college. On his first Sunday back, we crossed paths in the church we had both grown up in and I welcomed him home. We had each liked one another in high school but our likings had never happened at the same time.

What may have appeared to be a random moment of ordinary small talk between two old school friends, was actually two very different experiences.

For me, it was just a quick catch up with a sweet guy I used to have a crush on in high school.

For Hubs, it was anything but small talk. His heart was racing fast and his mind was struggling to catch up with his heart. He was asking himself if he was being delusional or if his imagination was running away with him. Because as I had walked toward him, he heard an unexpected thought cross his mind……

“You are going to marry her.”

Hubs knew I was engaged. So he did his best to chat with me about moving back to our hometown and finding a job. I told him that the shoe store I worked in had an opening and I would put in a good word for him.

Now it got really interesting! Hubs and I began to spend every day together in a tiny shoe store. Our friendship grew, but to me that is all it was, a great friendship. For him, it became more and more difficult to watch my unhealthy relationship with my fiancé day after day. He kept remembering those words he had heard and could not understand what in the world he was supposed to do about it!

In the meantime my mother was heartbroken over my destructive relationship also. She prayed for me constantly and had no idea how to help me.

Finally, there came a night when it all changed! Three separate events occurred to three separate people in three separate towns.

Hubs was in his little apartment thinking about what he had heard and he prayed a desperate prayer……

“God, I believe those words came from you, but I
can’t stand this anymore. If I don’t see a change tomorrow
I am never talking to you about her again!”

My mom was also praying about me that night. She begged God to help me get out of my unhealthy relationship and as she prayed she suddenly felt a peace about it and knew she could go to bed without worrying anymore.

I told you there were three events didn’t I? The third happening was mine. I was in a busload of young people I was chaperoning to a concert. As I rode along I opened a new letter from my fiancé. In the letter he was berating me and putting me down and for the very first time it really hit me wrong. I distinctly remember thinking…..

“I don’t deserve this treatment!”

Now, I had never thought that thought before because I believed that I did deserve his bad treatment. But my eyes were just suddenly and unexplainably opened! I broke off the engagement that night.

The next morning I went to work with one less piece of jewelry on my fingers. Can you imagine the racing heart and stuttering small talk Hubs had to endure that morning?

Hubs is not an idiot, he did not tell me any of this until long after we were engaged many months later. After my break-up he was a kind and gentle friend to me and taught me how I should be treated. I had no idea how wonderful it felt to be treasured and respected. He took his time, letting me heal and come to love him in a way that has lasted and grown for thirty-three years today. I am loved………..how else could you explain why a man would stand up in front of 400 people in a maroon tux with a pink shirt?




Brenda Susan





17 February 2011

Love Byte #17 – "What is love?" A Guest Post by E from Whining at the World

5:18 PM 5 Comments
Hello people. I’m E. and I’m doing my FIRST EVER guest post over here today!!! You can see I’m excited about this. I am honoured to be invited to guest blog. In fact, I’m pretty sure my response to Priya started off with Wow!

Anyway Priya, thank you for Love Bytes, it is such a great idea. I have loved reading the series. It has been great to be introduced to everyone’s different ideas of Love and a whole lot of new blogs as well. I must also say a big thank you for inviting me to take part.

So, I’m supposed to be writing about what love is to me. It’s a tough question that some of the other Love Bytes have already answered. These answers have been:

Love is what makes the ride worthwhile

Love is the devil

Love is my Life

Love is sharing… even your popcorn


Image by Claire and found on We Heart It.

It seems that everyone has an opinion on what love is. What kind of love are we talking about? Romantic love, the bond of love between a parent and child, sibling love there are many different kinds of love.
I’ve been to a few weddings where a particular passage from the bible is read out. You may have heard it - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. To me this passage is about love in all it’s different forms.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
That’s a lot to live up to. I’m really not sure we do that in our family. For those of you who don’t know me (Drop over to Whining and say hi!), my family consists of Mr E. (my husband), Boy Child (12), Girl Child (7) and me. While we may not live up to those bible verses it is unusual for someone to leave for the day without saying “I love you.” to everyone else. But as actions speak louder than words, here are some examples of the love shown in our house.

Love is: whacking your brother because he did something that annoyed you BUT wanting to have a sleepover in his room because you miss him despite your rooms being next door to each other. Girl Child

Love is: calling your sister a little freak BUT willingly playing with her and cheering her up when she is sad. Boy Child

Love is: being away from your family for work but calling every day to see how we are going and to say goodnight to us. Mr E.

Love is: sharing the chocolate. Me. Note: I have a Will Blog for Chocolate button over at Whining.

As I said earlier, love is expressed verbally in our house but I think it’s the actions that really show it. We may not live up to that passage but we still know that we are loved. So what is love? I dont think I can answer that. It is so many different things to so many people.

What is love to you? What do things others do that make you feel loved?

14 February 2011

Love Byte # 14 - Love Letters

11:38 AM 9 Comments

Happy Valentine's day lovies !!

I hoped to get hubs to do today's love byte but between all the packing , moving , shifting to a new place , we've had a pretty back breaking weekend and therefore no time for le blog ..

But last night as I was unpacking , sifting through old cards and letters , I found this one particular letter that has always intrigued me ...it dates back to the year 2000 ( yup don't even remind me again it's been that long :P ) ..
So , those were the good ol' days when he 'willingly' wrote me long letters but this one wasn't like a letter , it was something he wrote for me.. it's something that still sends a tingle down my spine..

This might sound a lil silly, considering we were both really young, but thats what love was back then , naive , immature , unsophisticated , uncomplicated yet ever so charming !! It still is the most beautiful part of our lives but you know what I mean ;)

I don't know why but the woman in her is attracting me, pulling me closer.. appealing to me , to love her and kiss her yet again ..

I don't know why but I am unable to resist her glowing face, her twinkling eyes and her seductive smile ,

this all's pulling me like a magnet attracts iron ..

She has that expression on her face which has something, something eternal about it..

The God within me is urging me to love her, love her as if you (me) are going to succumb the very next moment.. Give her everything you have .Treat her like a goddess coz she's the one who'll give you real happiness and set you free..

Each time I look into her eyes, I hear them saying ,

"Give me love, make me experience the height of passion and the madness in you. Love me wild, love me hard, love me with complete abandon, love me till you feel a part of a whole another world, our world . "

I think I've fallen in love with her all over again and this time its supernormal or shall I say supernal .

Now I'll love her more than I ever did , coz I want her to marry me , only me ..

She belongs to me and I can't afford to lose her..

Call it possessiveness or any damn thing but she's MINE

and to her I belong.

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