i don't really know, for sure.

i know falling in love exists. i've been there. i've felt that.

when that person walks into the room and your heart beats faster. when you can't help but think about them every minute of every day. you call them just to listen to the silence knowing they are there on the other side.

i also know that the feeling doesn't last forever. eventually, it fades. and what remains is a choice. the choice to keep caring . . .

or to quit.

i've said before, "love is a feeling, loving is a choice. never stop loving."

because really, it is a choice.

do i believe that a woman can look her husband in the eyes after twenty years of marriage with three kids and say that she doesn't love him anymore and mean it? yes, i do. it's her decision. it might be due to his actions, but she made the choice.

love isn't a contract you sign on your first date or your wedding day.

you can always make the choice.

the worst part is when two people who have fallen in love choose differently concerning loving. that can destroy hearts and lives.

something many of us know all too well.

so do i believe in love? yes. do i believe in loving? yes. true love? maybe. that depends on your definition.

if true love is two people deciding each morning that they will continue to love each other for the duration of their lives, then yes, i believe.

if it is a feeling that God dishes out to two people as a gift to last forever, then no, i don't.

love, like everything else in life, is something you have to work at. nothing is perfect.

"there is no such thing as a free lunch."

love doesn't just happen. you aren't going to get married one day and be happy forever "just because."

"happily ever after" isn't real. it's more of a "happily each moment."

so don't listen to disney.

because love isn't the destination, it's the journey.

and that goes for all kinds of love, whether romantic or not.

that's one lesson everyone could stand to learn.