For As Long As It Takes

Living in this long distance bi-national relationship could very easily see us wishing large chunks of our lives away. There is no doubt that the times we spend together are lived to the fullest since we barely leave each others' sides for a minute but what of the long periods of time we are forced to spend apart? I know many people will view this lifestyle as one of deprivation but I do my best to view it differently. There are days of course when the pain closes in on me but on a good day there IS joy to be found in this unconventional lifestyle. It is all a matter of how one views it.
The challenge I set myself when I am alone here is to seek out the face of my love in the world around me. I may find her in an unfolding flower or the laughter of a stranger. She may be there in the faint aroma of tobacco in my pumpkin & paprika relish, or in the windfalls that lie beneath my neighbour's apple tree. It is more than mere association and not just that these things act as memory prompts, though they do of course. There is something about a love as expansive and deep as this that enables it to redefine itself and still survive.
I doubt that the makers of discriminatory laws will ever grasp this fact. That true love will not cower. Nor will it lash out in anger. It will simply endure. For as long as it takes.