From "Return to Me," quite possibly the cutest romance I've ever seen. David Duchovny is just plain adorable in it.

Good Morning Life
Dean Martin

Good morning life
Good morning sun
How are your skies above
Gee, it's great to be alive and in love.

Good morning life
Good morning birds
Sing out your happy tunes
Feels so good because I'll be seeing her soon.

Last night she said she loved me
What a pity to part
I slept with both eyes open
Waiting for today to start.

Good morning life
Good morning world
How are you happiness.

All at once
I know what livin' can be
It's life, it's free,
It's someone waiting for me.

Who'll someday be my wife,
good morning life.
Good morning life.
Good morning life.

Last night she said she loved me
What a pity to part
I slept with both eyes open
Waiting for today to start.

Good morning life
Good morning world
How are you happiness
All at once I know what livin' can be.

Ah it's life, it's free
It's someone waiting for me
Who'll someday be my wife
Good morning life

~*~

Today I felt like I'd fallen in love. It came rather suddenly. I've been thinking about love and "love" a LOT lately. Must be this roses/daydreams, wildflowers/laughter string I've been on for weeks. (Yeah, weeks... I didn't post anything about it in here and it's been going on since May 27, according to my paper-and-pen diary. Gee whiz. Where's my brain been? Or rather, my heart. Anyway.) I've always--understand this, always, since I had my very first crush in 5th grade--been on my guard against false "love," ever since I read an insert in our church bulletin with something by James Dobson on true love. That's why it took me so long to fall in "love" in high school. I was always telling myself, "This isn't real. Don't pursue it. It's just a crush. It isn't real."

But lately I've been wondering if real love needs "love"--"love" being that warm, fuzzy, head-over-heels (basically, emotional) "love." I mean, how do girls decide they're ready to marry anyway? They "feel" something, right? If they didn't feel something emotionally they wouldn't go into marriage, unless they were REALLY REALLY practical.

I honestly don't know how to say this clearly, so let me put it the way it's going in my mind right now. Arranged marriages were made for the purpose of commitment. For the girl, they picked a nice guy who had enough money and enough sense of responsibility to marry a girl. For the guy, they picked a nice girl who would make a good housewife. And the commitment was for LIFE. NO getting out of it.

And that's what love is supposed to be, right? A commitment? For life? Well, if I were going to marry solely for the purpose of commitment and practicality, it'd be a very unromantic relationship and the only enjoyment I'd get out of it was the assurance that "this is a practical marriage I should be in, so it doesn't matter if we don't 'feel' anything."

That's got to be wrong. Couples just do not marry if they don't feel anything anymore. They just don't. Plus girls are WIRED to feel. You got me there? They are WIRED to be emotional. So there MUST be a feeling when you're thinking about marrying a guy.

So my point is, maybe "love" (emotional love) does need to be in a relationship. Or it just needs to be. Even if it isn't real love, as Dr. Dobson says. It must come with real, lifelong love.

When I admit that, my guard falls. My guard falls, and I fall, head over heels. Because I am made that way. I am made to experience the thrills of emotion that come with "love." And once I admit it's okay to get a little crazy over a guy, there I go! Right over the cliff. It's either all or nothing for me.

My guard falls and I feel a whole lot like singing that Dean Martin song. :)

-Stephanie