The way I look at love;

1. Love is something that is truly amazing. It really can't be explained, but sometimes the unexplainable things are the best things.

2. Love is something that isn't found very often anymore. We trick ourselves into thinking we love someone, when really, we are in love with being in love.

3. Love is tricky...because we may not want love, but that's just because we don't want the things that come with love.

4. Love is said to be simple. We give up on love because things get hard and we think that because we get in a fight it isn't love. Love isn't supposed to be easy...it's supposed to require work.

5. Love is being able to get through the fights and the arguments and still being able to talk everything out and be OK. Better than OK actually. Better than you were before the fight.

6. Love isn't what it used to be. Along with the text messaging, IM, and email...love has become impersonal.

7. Love is something everyone wants...from someone...even if they don't admit it.

8. Love is that one thing, that no matter how hard you try, once you love someone and it ends, you can't forget it. It's like that reoccurring nightmare that you have...where you love someone and end up getting hurt.

9. Love is the most abused word used when people are drunk/high/etc, and in the general language.

10. Love is hard to find and doesn't always happen when/with who you think it will. And, if you think you have it, fight to keep it. Don't be so closed off to finding it in unexpected places, because you never know.

When I heard my new profile song from Michael Warren for the first time, the first people that popped into my head were my great-grandparents, grandparents, and great aunt and uncle.

These people have shown me more about love than anyone ever could. They defy the statistics. They give meaning to the word love without even meaning to. They show an example without even meaning to. They simply love each other...until death do them part...and that's all there is.

You know that look someone gets when they really like someone and realize that they want them? Yeah...a buddy of mine called them "hungry eyes," and that really describes what it is. All of those people mentioned have those.

Everytime I see my PawPaw and NaNa look at each other I can see how much they love each other. It's amazing. Every time I saw my great grandfather and mother look at each other, there was nothing but pure addoration in their eyes. Every time I saw my aunt and uncle look at each other...those eyes...they were something to marvel. You could literally see the love in their eyes.

My great grandfather is probably one of the strongest people I know. He made it through the Great Depression, World War II, The Vietnam War, September 11th, and the War on Terror. Not only that, he made it through having an alcoholic father and raising his brothers and sisters with his mother. He repaired old violins, was an exterminator, and an array of other things, just to support his family. Him and my great grandmother were married 68 (almost 69) years when my great grandmother passed away. Before she died, she was put into a room at their assistant living facitlity, and he requested to share a room with her so that they could spend time together. He wanted to be there with her through it all...until the end...no matter the cost.

I'd never seen this man shed the slightest tear...the slightest sense of pain, hurt, or defeat. Until the day my great grandmother died. I saw one of the strongest men I have ever had the pleasure of knowing crumble at the sight of his diseased wife. Talk about a tear jerker. His words when he recovered? Simply, "I'll always love her. I can't make it without her." He died a year later...physically anyway. But we all saw that when she died, she took the best part of him with her. They made each other...they were each other. They were a part of each other...and a half doesn't mean a whole lot unless the other half is there.

My grandparents are much the same way. They have been married close to 50 years. They get on each other's nerves. They have their little tiffs. Just like my great grandparents, they do things that makes the other one crazy. NaNa once told me, "Sometimes I could ring his neck, but I'll always love him." You can see the look of worry when something happens to one of them. They are both getting older, and you can see the worry on their faces when something happens to the other one. They too, are parts of each other...and they balance each other out.

Love is amazing...it's something that can't be explained. However, it might just be something we can watch happen...or fall into without even knowing it. It doesn't follow any certain rules or guidelines...it's just there for the taking.

In a world where everything is so against love...it can be hard to see how love can survive. But, that's the greatest thing about it...it can survive anything. If you want it to. And it's all about want. You have to want to be loved before you can be loved...otherwise, it doesn't work.