Giving Love a Good Name

Maybe it's because I've been watching my oldest struggle through the drama called teenage-romance-gone-bad, but lately I've been thinking about my own break-up stories from days gone by. I can remember pretty well how dreary and hopeless life seemed at times, even at the ripe old age of seventeen. All I ever wanted was somebody to love and to love me, and I can recall how I wondered if that day would ever come.

This past week I read a book based on a young man trying to find his own way in the days of Queen Mary's reign following the death of England's King Edward. Two things struck me as worth remembering in this book: first, how the (fictional) parents of the young man in question were portrayed... dedicated to one another and very much in love regardless of the troubles that life presented. Though their son was a source of great grief and worry to them, they never ceased in their support and encouragement to one another. Secondly, Queen Mary herself fascinated me. Granted this was historical fiction and as always such aspects should be considered, but Mary was so desperate to find love that she easily relented to Prince Phillip's desire to rid England of Protestantism. While he saw their union as one of convenience and power in uniting Spain and England, she only saw a man who wanted her and refused to reconcile within herself why those reasons might be. The result earned her the nickname Bloody Mary and for her, true love was never recognized.

Maybe for some love is a game of chance... you may win or lose, or possibly feel like you've never even had a chance to play. I can look back now and see that the worse times in my life (or what I perceived to be the worst) was really just a part of growing up. When I did find that someone to love me, it happened by surprise and was well worth the wait. Of course, I can say that now that those teenage romances are far behind me and I've finally got this love-thing figured out. (Not really). Watching my kids begin their journey, though, is just a reminder of how fragile those feelings are and why no matter what the year or generation is, GNR's "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" is still the best break-up song out there (with Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" a close second).