Why? Romance. That ’s what it’s all about.

　　 I’ve often wondered how that intangible5 sense of true love and devotion makes the leap from celluloid6 to realit y. I know it happens. I’ve been around couples who have been marr ied for decades and still glow when they sit side by side, hands lovingly inter twined.

　　However as a child of divorce, and a divorcee myself, I also k now that the course of true love never runs smooth. In fact, Rocky Road might better entitle the majorit y of marriages I know.

　　But, last week a friend of mine told me a little secret. A tale of love that brought tears to my eyes and I must admit, a little envy to my heart.

　　Her story wasn’t about the latest piece of jewelr y that her husband gave her, or the flowers that he sent. For my friend’s husband passed away t wo years ago, just short of their fif tieth wedding anniversary.

　　So now at the age of seventy, she is alone. But, thanks to her loving spouse, not always lonely.

　　For tucked away in drawers and cabinets throughout my friend’s home are love notes scripted by her husband, terms of endearment7 that he planted8 as romantic surprises for her during the course of their marriage.

　　 Over the years, she saved his sweet inscriptions, often leaving them in their original hiding places. His loving sentiments tenderly played anew with each re-discovery.

　　 Now that he is gone, her life is a daily challenge of loving memories and sad yearning for this romantic man with whom she shared almost a half century of her life.

　　But in her indomitable way, my friend is continuing on with determination and enthusiasm. She is healthy and strong and lives each day with an interest in the world around her. She is surrounded by family and friends who support her and a community where she is acknowledged and respected. But most of all, she continues on with the inner knowledge that she is loved. Truly and totally.

　　 And any time she thinks otherwise, all she has to do is open a kitchen drawer or look in her bedroom nightstand for a little reminder.

　　But somehow I think she k nows, even before she opens that drawer.