Once upon a time… there was a little girl who dreamed of falling in love. A world apart lived a little boy who, although preoccupied with boyish thoughts, also dreamed of one day meeting his true love.

Their lives were similar in so many ways, but yet they had never met. Both grew up and began to move about the world, and as they did their paths took them from place to place – to the farmlands of Wisconsin and the grand and gray streets of London; from the twinkling towers of Paris to the balmy heat of the Florida sun. Their journeys were practically parallel. At times they were only miles apart, and on occasion, one may have even walked the same streets only moments after the other.

This carefully orchestrated dance continued until the day their paths collided in a perfect twist of fate. The timing was unmatched and both fell madly in love as though they had known each other their entire lives. He recognized her instantly as she poured her heart out to a room full of strangers after returning from a trip to India (she would argue it was the mere sight of her wrapped in a sari). Then only a few weeks later, the veil was lifted from her eyes when she caught sight of his hand on hers and realized it was the one she’d pictured in her mind for years.

Two paths crossed and finally, they united.

Yes, believe it or not, that is our love story. And for being the hopeless romantic that I am, I couldn’t have written it any better.

My mother has this pet peeve with movies. She absolutely hates it when they end the film just as the two love birds come together. It drives her mad. What happens next? Do they marry, have kids? Do they grow old and die wrapped up in each others arms or fall out of love after twenty-some years and end up miserably alone? Too much Lifetime Television if you ask me.

I would much rather leave them there. Frozen in time. Never aging, never fighting, never feeling anything less than the passion and love they felt at that very moment. But unfortunately, the real world has this nasty habit of crashing the party. Home from the honeymoon and life quickly starts issuing its reality checks – bills, busted pipes and an economic downturn or two. If you’re lucky, you manage to fend off the distractions together and your love might even strengthen through the fight. You have to learn to communicate clearly (why doesn’t that word ever show up in the movies?) and juggle all that life throws at you while still making time for each other. It’s a crazy game, it really is.

So, for mom’s sake, what happened to that star-crossed couple at the beginning of our story? In all honestly, they’ve had their bumps. They have had to battle it through the muck and static. Lines of communication may have broken once or twice… especially when a little one entered the mix, but amazingly enough their love has yet to be tarnished! They have come to realize that true love is hidden in everyday things. It may just be a passing glance, or the hilarity of a blown out diaper, but somehow they have found a way to relive that moment in time and fall in love all over… again and again.

Here’s to a February filled with love.