Love or Passion?

Love or Passion?

         The tracks of Harley’s tears were faintly visible on her cheeks. Her cry was just about over. This was not something that you actually shared with your grandpa. But Harley’s grandpa was not your typical old guy.

         “At fifteen years old it’s not unusual to get your heart broken, Harley. I know that’s not very comforting. But, it is a natural occurence, and others have proven that you can get through this. Darlin’, you’re one of the strong ones who will come out of the experience a stronger and more sensitive person. I just happen to be one of the lucky ones who have never had this happen to them.” Dan smiled at his heartbroken granddaughter and stroked the back of her hair with his hand lovingly.

         “Thanks, grandpa—is it true? Is it true that you’ve never had your heart broken?”

         Dan’s smile mellowed as he thought about the question. He then decided to share his story with his granddaughter.

         “It’s true, Darlin’. I’ve never had my heart broken like you have today. Your grandma and I met each other almost forty years ago. I was just a young pup in high school. I had no idea what life was about. I was simply enjoying being young and living new experiences, just like you are today.

         ”Girls were a new frontier for me. It’s true that young boys are driven by their hormones. I thought all girls were marvelous creatures. I fell in love with every girl that I talked to. At least I thought that was what it was. I dated a few of them before I met your grandma, but I didn’t stick around them very long. Girls were exciting things. They were soft, smelled good, and caused me to be a little crazy. It was only later that I discovered that that’s what they were supposed to do.

         “I met your grandma when I was a senior in high school and she was a junior. I was attracted to her. But that’s not unusual; I was attracted to every female. But, for some reason, your grandma was attracted to me. The attention that she gave me was like rocket fuel. I sucked it in and was totally smitten by her. The fact that someone would actually consider me worthy of serious consideration amazed me. So on a romantic summer night in 1966 I gave your grandma my senior ring and she agreed to wear it.

         “I graduated from high school and went off to college at the University of Oklahoma. She stayed at home to finish high school. I didn’t know it, but she was preparing for a future life with me forever. I was still bouncing around trying to figure out which way was up. The only consistent thing in my life was her. She was always there and always accepting of me. It was about that time that I figured out that we needed to do this together for the rest of our lives. So, I asked your grandma to marry me. And that’s exactly what she did. To this day, I don’t know why she chose me. But thank God she did.”

         “That’s a beautiful story grandpa. I mean, about how you fell in love with grandma.” Harley leaned over and gave her grandpa a kiss on the cheek.

         Dan chuckled, smiled, and added, “Oh, that’s not when I fell in love with your grandma.”

         Harley’s forehead wrinkled as she asked, “What do you mean? I thought you said that’s how you ended up getting married?”

         “That’s true. That’s how we ended up getting married.” Dan continued. “But Harley, that’s not when we fell in love. No, that came later. In fact it’s still happening. That’s when we fell into passion. Darlin’, never mistake falling into passion with falling into love. Passion is something you are. Love is something that you’ve got to do. You see, love is a verb. That means it requires an action.

         “I fell into passion with your grandma when she was a young girl in high school. That’s a pretty strong emotion. And for a while it controlled all my actions. But it was at that first moment that I began to love your grandma. Over the years the passion has been controlled and eventually overshadowed by love. It’s taken a lot of years for me to fall in love with Grandma. In fact, I’m still working at it.

         Harley’s tears began to fill her eyes again. However, this time they were tears of love. “Oh Grandpa, I do love you. That’s what I want Grandpa. I want to fall in love like you and Grandma.”

         “You will, Darlin’. You will. You will get over this romance that has broken your heart today. You will find a man out there someday that you will grow to love. Now, give me a hug and let’s get on with living this exciting life of yours.” Dan held his arms out for his granddaughter.

         As she hugged her grandpa, Harley allowed a single tear to trickle down her cheek. And in a whisper said, “Thanks Grandpa, for everything, thanks.”