Love through the ages

In another tab not so far away I am down an enormous rabbit hole writing about honor. I have fallen so far as to read Freshman lectures, reseach Socrates and talk to the adorable couple at the table next to me. I call them adorable because that is what they call each other.

“You’re adorable.”

“No, you’re adorable.”

If they weren’t so adorable it would be a lot less adorable than it is. Or something.

They are not a new couple…they have been at our shared coffee shop a lot. Just never close enough for me to eavesdrop. If you can call it eavesdropping when they are 18 inches away and speaking in full volume.

But that’s what love does. It turns the volume up.

One of my favorite stories of how much love can warp reality came at our Cape Cod dinner table. My mother’s new (at the time) partner sat at the head enjoying (I think) his zucchini soup. My mother was explaining his dedication to studying climate change. “R doesn’t have a carbon footprint” she declared. I couldn’t help but snort. “What?” she asked. “Everyone has a carbon footprint” I answered in the tones of a twelve year old. My boys agreed. It was the modern version of walking on water. To her he could.

Recently my fourth grader has developed a crush. It is the early version of the Bromance. He wants to play the sports that this boy plays. He brings up his name in conversation. He brags about this boy’s amazing skills. “When C bites into a popsicle his front teeth DON”T EVEN FEEL THE COLD.”

Imagine that. Leo’s face glows as he shares this tidbit. He has found someone magical and he can barely believe it.

Next to me the male half of the adorable couple is leaving the table for another coffee. He reaches out his hand and she bends to kiss it. “I love you.” He tells her. “You are so talented” she answers. So I look over. I want to know what he has been working on. His screen is open to an instructional page on paper airplanes. Her eyes are wide. This guy can fly.

Love. It never gets old.