Love Is Temporary Madness

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two." –St. Augustine.
My boyfriend sent me this quote a few months ago and ever since then, whenever we fight or argue over something completely ridiculous, he tells me to look back at it, read it over to myself in my head, and then think about what I want. If what we’re arguing about is really worth it. Does something as simple as a text message or a misunderstood sentence worth all the trouble we put into it? Most of the time, the answer is no.
St. Augustine was right on the money with Jake and I’s relationship. We’ve been together for almost a year now, and I know that that doesn’t seem like a very long time to be relating quotes like that to your relationship, but we’ve known each other for much longer than that. Him and I met when I was in 9th grade and hit it off right away. We became great friends, but not up until November of 2009 did we start dating. Yeah, at first dating your best friend is a little weird, but in the end you have history. Which brings me to another quote. “The thing about dating a friend is that you've got history. You've got stories, and laughs that you can talk about. It's much easier, and better, then starting from scratch.” –Anonymous
Jake and I were inseparable, even while friends. If I could spend every waking moment with him, I would. He means the world to me, and without him, I don’t know what I would do.
Jake is always telling me he loves me, that he wants to be with me forever. You know, the normal stuff teenagers talk about when they are “in love.”
But at the same time, he says things to his friends like.. “I’m not in love with Meghan, she’s a part of me now.” That’s the kind of thing that really gets me thinking.
I love Jake, with all of my heart and would do anything for him, and no matter what, that will never change.
In the quote by St. Augustine, he says, that when the initial feeling of being “in love” subsides, you have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.
And that, is how I feel. I feel that if Jake and I were to lose each other, not just from breaking up, but from either an accident, or from the disease he was given, I don’t know what I would do.
To me, all of our problems, all of our differences are nothing compared to how I feel about him and that’s what I think St. Augustine is trying to get across with that quote. That being “in love” is not something you can keep forever. That being “in love” only lasts so long.
Jake and I are past that feeling of being “in love.” I’ve been in love with him since the moment I saw him, from St. Augustine’s definition. Yes, I still feel those butterflies and the breathlessness.. But what I don’t feel is that if we were to part, that I could go on with my life, happily.