Valentines day

[Knk]

I've realized that one's childhood and adolescent experiences can have such a powerful affect on our perspective later on in life. I have always had a somewhat of a cynical outlook on relationships, and I could never really identify exactly why that was.

Recently I've been thinking and I believe I've discovered the route cause of this problem. My whole life my parents have been the type of people to never show any sort of love or affection towards each other. The only time I've seen my father do anything remotely affectionate was the time I saw him kiss my mom on her cheek a few years ago. Birthdays come by and they forget to buy each other anything, valentines day passes without even a card, and its almost as though they are brother and sister - not husband and wife.

I always thought that this was normal and that it happened to all couples as they grew old together. Today I feel like I have a renewed faith in relationships. I was over at my friends house and I notice that there were two cards on his mantelpiece. One was from his mom to his dad, and the other card was a homemade card created by his father. I casually asked "do your parents ever show affection for each other" he responded by telling me that his parents show affection all the time, often in subtle but meaningful ways. He talked about how in love his parents were, and all of a sudden a light when off in my brain and I realized that my parents relationship has unfairly altered my view on all marriages and relationships in general.

I know now that "real love" can persist throughout the years, and I can honestly say that I am no longer cynical about marriages. It's amazing how such simple experiences can have such a profound affect on us...