Crazy, Stupid, Love

Last night my husband and I went to "Crazy, Stupid, Love" which has an all-star cast including Steve Carrell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone. Wow. I got a lot out of this movie. This movie has a lot of heart. I laughed and cried through the entire thing. There were parts of the characters that really struck a chord with me. The most beautiful part was the story behind Steve Carrell and Julianne Moore's characters. They played a married forty something couple that had been married since they were teenagers. They met in high school when they were fifteen and fell in love. The story of their journey was so beautiful to me. They believed that they were each other's soulmates, but they lost each other along the way as life happened. Anyone who married their high school sweetheart MUST go see this movie. Just like the main characters, my husband and I have never been apart since our first date when we were seventeen. We got married when we were twenty-two. Sometimes people are doubtful that you can find a soulmate when you are only seventeen. They think you have to be with many different people before you could possibly know the right one for you. While this may be true for some people, it isn't true for all. It is possible to find your soulmate when you are young and to stick with them and still feel all that love you felt in the beginning. Of course, it doesn't work out for some people, like all things. Marrying your high school sweetheart gives you a unique opportunity to essentially grow up together. People grow and change as they age. But....if you found the RIGHT person....this can be a powerful and wonderful journey. My husband and I are not the same as we were when we were seventeen. We appreciate each other and the journey we have been through. We laugh at the changes we have gone through together. In the movie, Julianne Moore said, "I am still glad you bought me that ice cream cone" in reference to their first date. So, last night after the movie, I said, "I am still glad you took me to "Twelve Monkeys" (the movie we saw on our first date) in your pick-up truck." My husband said, "Are you still glad that I drove like a maniac on purpose that night and did donuts on the ice?" I laughed and told him that yes, I was indeed still glad that he did that (better not do it now though!) and that is one of the many reasons I fell in love with him in the first place. Even though my husband doesn't take me out on wild drives on the ice anymore, "that guy" is still who he is at his core. When life gets busy and stressful, it is easy to lose sight of who you were when you first fell in love with someone. People get so wrapped up in the day to day drudgery of trying to make ends meet, keeping up with the Jones', doing laundry, packing lunches, work, etc, etc that they don't take time to stop and remember. Remember that person that you fell in love with because they are still THERE. Under the wrinkles, laugh lines, gray hair, dark circles, bald spots, and all other signs of life as a busy, stressed adult, you are still the same person at your core. I would never, ever change the fact that I got married when I was 22 to the person I had been dating since I was 17. Have there been struggles? Yes. Have there been days when I feel like giving up? Yes. But then I come to my senses. I realize that there is no better person on Earth for me, and that we are who we are because of EACH OTHER. My weaknesses are his strengths. His weaknesses are my strenths. When he is angry at our daughter for accidentally breaking his back scratcher (not that that really happened in the last ten minutes *wink*) and I think he is crazy, I just have to stop and smile inside because I know how he is. Go see this movie. It is for people in their twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, and so on. It is for single people and married people. If you have ever loved ANYTHING in your life, you will enjoy it. Because love is crazy and stupid. But it is also magical.

While you are out seeing this movie, I will be out finding a new back scratcher to put in my husband's nightstand. The things we do for love!