The desire for having a fairytale romance was ingrained in me from an early age. As soon as Sleeping Beauty was kissed by her Prince, I was sold to the idea of Happily Ever After. But many years, and a pond full of frogs later, I came to realise that there is no Prince, and if there should even be one, what the fuck would he be doing kneeling at the foot of my bed? Once I had resigned myself to that fact, the realisation that my future lay with pond life was almost a relief to me. It meant having no more unrealistic expectations.

No matter which way you look at it, frogs are frogs. They come in all shapes and sizes but they’re still frogs. I just had to choose which one I wanted to spend my life with. So my frog quest began, and I fell in love.

It never occurred to me though, that my frog would come with excess baggage. That he’d be envious of those who were bigger, or browner, or could jump further. That he’d feel contempt for his lily-pad and want to jump on a new one. That he’d have issues with our tadpoles. That he’d have a need to sulk under a bush on a regular basis. That he’d moan that the flies were too small, or that I caught a fatter one than he did. That he’d want to go off and spend time with his frog friends for days on end. And I never knew he’d be able to croak so bloody loud.

Ok, enough about frogs.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13:4

Bullshit.

The Corinthians lived in fucking la-la land.

Love can be impatient, love can be cruel. It does not always respect, nor consider, and it is not always fair. It is not always polite or charitable, it can be easily angered, and it always keeps records of wrongs. Love delights in revenge and rejoices with apologies. It rarely protects and rarely trusts.

What would make a sensible, intelligent woman remain in a destructive, abusive, dysfunctional relationship?

Love.

Because love always hopes… and it always perseveres.

Labels: Posted by Bitter