Casey and I arrived twenty minutes ahead of them and picked a table on the front patio under a heating lamp. The sweet and strong smell of garlic was in the air! Without much else to do, I found myself staring at the other patrons while Casey and I talked. At the table next to us sat two adults, maybe about my parent's age. They hadn't said a word to one another since we'd sat down. Not one word.
The man looked physically fit and healthy, but the woman appeared to be quite out of shape and sat with her shoulders slumped slightly forward, head tilted down. They ate in silence. They paid the bill with only a few words from the woman as she paid, spoken just to the waiter. And then they got up and put on their jackets. He walked out ahead of her, continuing to walk ahead of her on the sidewalk until I could no longer see them.
It was pretty much the saddest relationship I'd ever seen. Obviously I don't know the story, but they looked very unhappy and out of love. Maybe it was an anniversary of a terrible family tragedy. Or maybe they had just received bad news. Or perhaps they were just another sad couple who had run out of things to say and given up on trying to find happiness in one another. I don't know, but it made me sad.
It seems hot sauce is a cure for sadness. Our date finally arrived with two bottles of hot sauce for me and I forgot about the silent couple.
Then today I saw the story of another couple whose story was completely opposite of the first one, and was also without words. It was told in pictures on the Internet. Their commitment to one another is outstanding, and without knowing this couple either, it was easy to see the love on their faces. Their photos brought me to tears.
http://words2vomit.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/love-story-a-story-in-pictures-you-wont-forget-easily/
What I took away from both of these couples whom I'll never meet or know, is that people see you all the time. Whether you're posting your pictures for the public, or sitting at a private dinner table, people see you. How they see you is up to you. You don't have to be in love to be seen as a happy person, and you don't have to be out of love to be seen as a sad person. But no matter what sort of person you are, make sure people are seeing you as who you want to be. And I hope that's a happy, well-loved person. **HUGS**
