The Life of Love

      As the music played a soft melody which replicated the sounds of Carlos Santana, she danced. In a seductive manner she swayed her hips from side to side ever so passionately involved in the rhythm of the music.  As I watched her dance, I couldn’t help but wonder why another man had not approached her as of yet.  Her long black dress which resembled a style out of East Asia fitted perfectly to her body. Perfection! Before I knew it I was locked in her seductive gaze. She moved closer, closer and closer. My heart stopped, for I did not know what to do, what to say. My thoughts told me to look away, but my heart told me otherwise. I knew this was it, the moment of truth. So I stood up, placed her hand in mine, and led her to the dance floor. As we dance our movements became one with the rhythm of the music. And as we stared into each other’s eyes we became lost in the moment. It was as if time stopped and everything around us ceased to exist. It was perfect; so perfect a Hollywood writer couldn’t have scripted a more memorable moment. It was at that defining moment in my life when I realized I was in love for the first time. I’ve never believed in love at first sight, until that memorable night. 
    As the days passed and our love matured, I was further assured that this was the girl that would change my life forever. The days became months and months became years. And in time our love became sort of a fairytale.
      I can remember it like yesterday; it was a warm summer’s afternoon and we were under an old oak tree on top of a hill. I sat underneath the tree using the trunk as my back rest as I held her in my arms. As we sat there looking at the clouds in the sky, a warm summer’s breeze blew across our bodies providing a sense of comfort for which you would have to experience to understand. Then she asked, “Baby, how much do you love me?” I looked her in the eyes and smiled. After a brief pause I replied, “Close your eyes and imagine this. The universe is a vast verse of space never ending. And even space can not contain my love for you.” As she opened her eyes she saw the sparkle of a diamond; then I asked for her hand. Perfection! The perfect moment had been ascertained.
      In time God blessed us with three beautiful children. It was when the eldest was preparing to leave the comforts of home to begin his new life at the University when he asked, “Father, you lived a good and happy life. How can I achieve a life as well lived as yours?” I looked at him with proud eyes and said, “Son, you have made me so proud. You have lived a respectful life and worked hard for what you want, and believe to be right. You’re a fighter who doesn’t give up in the face of adversity. Further more, you have your priorities straight. In time you will know what you want; and when you discover that, you will know what you need to make you happy. But when the time comes and you find the girl you want to spend the rest of your life with, I have only one thing to say. Treat her with the respect that she deserves, and love her with all your heart.” We hugged, and he left.
      At one time I thought I had no additional love to give, but the love for my children proved to me that I didn’t understand the true depth of love in the beginning. As both my wife and I watched our eldest drive off to college we were over come with our emotions; tears fell from our eyes. It felt as if it were only yesterday when I first laid eyes on my wife. For I can still remember the song from Carlos Santana and the perfectly fitted black dress. As my wife and I stood at the front door staring off into the distance, a radio in the back room begun to play that song, the song that brought us together. As I looked at my wife with a smile, I extended a hand, and she placed hers in mine, and I led her to the living room where we danced just as we did the first time we met. Perfection!
    As time passed and our children begun to have children of their own, the cycle of life became near completion. I remember last Christmas when all the children and grandchild came home for the holidays; the house was filled with laughter and the celebration of Christmas. While I sat in my chair marveling in all that God had provided me, I couldn’t help but get emotional. Life had been so great to me. I had my beautiful wife at my side, and both my children and grandchildren at the house. It was at that point in my life when I realized that if I were to die that day I would have lived a fulfilled life. As the grandchildren ran through the house playing, one of them jumped into my lap and kissed me on the cheek. Before she rejoined the other children running about, she went on to tell me how much she loved me as she gave me a hug which seemed to last for an eternity. My wife came to my side and kissed me on the other cheek and whispered into my ear, “baby I’ve loved you since the first day I laid eyes on you, and I will continue to love you till the day that I die.” I’ve never felt as complete as I did at that very moment. Perfection!
    Some would say that love dies when your significant other passes away, but I would say that the life of love is never ending. Although my wife is no longer with me, my love for her and my family will never end. It hurts, it hurts so much but I know that she is in heaven looking down on us right now. She wouldn’t want us to cry over her, she would want us to remember the good times that we all had together and carry on. Carry on with love; carry on with life, carry on with each other. The pain that I experienced was simply too great for one soul to bear. When alone at night, I couldn’t help but cry. As an endless stream of tears flowed from my eyes, the realizations that a part of me was lost forever deeply sadden me. After kissing a picture of my wife and whispering, “I’ll see you soon,” I proceeded to lie in bed, where I closed my eyes, and thought of our time together. As my thoughts flowed my breaths of air slowed, and slowed and slowed, and soon my tears ceased to flow. All at once the pain was gone, and my body was filled with an incredible sense of peace. I can see her! I can feel her! I am with her.
                                                    It is done…
                                    The life of love is never ending.