clear waters.

I've found that a substantial portion of our days are spent worrying about the first date. And maybe the second date. And maybe the third through twentieth too. And then, suddenly, the worry and stress disappear, and with it, the pedestal. I have a friend who has been dating her boyfriend for about four months. In that time, they celebrated Valentine's Day, a birthday, an anniversary, and have traveled away for a weekend together. For the first 121 days, it was fun and romantic and silly, but then, on that 122nd day, he fell off the pedestal...and, maybe, she did too. Because, when we're first dating someone, we have the privilege of LOVE GOGGLES. The goggles shield us from the bad, the gross, the grimy, the unattractive; they allow us to dive. And so, dive we do--head first into bliss. Inevitably, however, the water becomes murkier (or perhaps it finally becomes clear), and we see, for the first time, someone who drinks a little too much, or sends texts that are a little too silly, or is a little to shmoozy, or maybe even leaves a few too many skid marks. For my friend, when her goggles came off, she found herself looking at someone who, as he held her face in his hands, said, "did you use to have a uni brow?" I think it's maybe safe to say that her goggles weren't politely or even slyly removed. Her amazing new boyfriend casually picked up a hammer and shattered them. It was then that she realized she is not casually dating a new boy; it's perfectly clear she has a real boyfriend who likes her a lot. Perfectly Clear because he loves to look at her and notice all of her...even her beautiful flaws.