Love is...

Does anyone remember those old cartoons that said "love is..." and then some kind of behaviour modification? For those of you who don't remember, or didn't know, or are too lazy to google - here's a link

This doesn't actually tell you what love is. There are definitions and definitions, but none of them actually seem to hit the mark. But we have, all of us, at one time or another, felt that bittersweet sting that means that Cupid has decided to take a personal interest in our lives.

For the past 10 months, since the end of March 2006, I have been in a relationship with a wonderful woman. This relationship proceeded from friendship with romantic tension, to love, to .. I guess insanity is one word that can be used.

We are very different in many things. Our political, social, and other such beliefs are entirely opposite. She's a traditionalist and conservative, I am a neophile libertarian. I'm a Linux geek, and she's a hardcore Microsoftie. And yet we are also very similar in some of our attitudes, approaching the same thing through differing, sometimes even opposing, routes

The strange thing about her, is that she believes in me, and in my abilities and what I can do. And she seems to think that I am a wonderful person. Which, as most of you know, I am not.

Love is... Love is realising that your life is empty without her. Love is realising that there really isn't much you wouldn't do to keep her happy. Love is realising, in the words of Jack Nicholson, "You make me want to be a better man"

This young woman thinks that I can write better than this. She believes that my last article on chickenhawks was.. beneath me. And in retrospect, I agree. So for now, I am doing something that I thought I would never do, and that is pulling the article pending a rewrite. I will also try to raise the standard of my writing.

Love is... One of the most famous or most published "Love is..." cartoon is "Love is... being able to say you're sorry." And I am sorry that I hurt someone who loves me so much

More on "Love is..." at Wikipedia. And a more NSFW version