Watching Love Bloom

I often say falling in love is like being gay. Everyone else around you notices before you do.

Next month we’ll be attending the wedding of two friends who were in denial for a very long time. Finally, they came to terms with the fact that they were in love.

So why my fascination with love?

After all, I’ve been in a relationship for over two decades now. We have always said ‘I love you’ either directly to each other, or at the end of every phone call. Yet, over the last two months we’ve been reminding each other more and more.

The answer:

One of our closest gay friends has fallen deeply. His feet hardly touch the ground. He strides with an air of confidence we’ve never seen before. And as you can tell from these symptoms, the love is reciprocated.

The first big social occasion which they both attended was a quiet study in romance. The new love constantly gazed at our friend, serenely. He still talked to a large cast of people he’d never met, but from time to time, his eyes would gently fixate on his new hero.

The nicest part about watching this unfold is realising you’ve entered a time machine. These lovely two men are around the same age that Warren and I were when we met. And step by step we’re reliving our romance.

The Stages:

Of course, their passion ran wild over the first few weeks. Boundaries were tested. Both questioned how deeply they’d fallen.

Now they’re in that ‘comfortable in each other’s presence’ stage, like old mates who face the world in synchronicity. But before any of this, they had to question themselves about what they were feeling.

Sometimes it’s all passion at the start, before you question whether there’s more to it. Sometimes it’s a measured step by step process to gradually say goodbye to single life. But however it happens, it’s not like the fairy tales. The ‘love at first site’ moment is never as pronounced as they make out.

The mirror.

Comfortably watching the magic that is a loving relationship from a middle age perspective, reignites your own glorious love. Whether you need the boost or not.

So I’d like to thank our friend and his amazing boyfriend for this trip down memory lane. The journey has just begun. You’ll find you’ll fall deeper and deeper in love every day.