Ghost of a Chance

Shannon’s Perspective:

“Loving you whether, whether times are good or bad happy or sad”

Isn’t that ultimately what marriage and relationships are about, staying together and loving each other through it all?  I mean just like any couple who have spent decades together we have had our share of good or bad, happy or sad times but we are still here.  Still together.  Still loving one another. 

I remember in my high school psychology class Mr. Jenkins telling a class full of teenage girls that relationships and marriage are not like running through a field of flowers smiling and laughing all the time and the sooner we accept and acknowledge that the happier we will be.  Yeah, maybe that was kind of harsh but it was the 80’s and teachers could get away with a lot more than they can now. But for me as a teenage girl in the 80’s everything we watched, read or listened to made it seem like if your relationship wasn’t perfect all the time then it was probably your fault.  This one statement though, changed my perspective and made me realize there was no such thing as a perfect relationship and if you wanted a relationship to stand the test of time you were gonna have to put some work into it.

It's really sad to me how easily people will give up on each other when things start to get too hard or any amount of effort has to be put into it.  I do not believe in the whole “you should stay together no matter what” viewpoint but I do feel like sometimes people walk away without really trying to work on things.  Marriage is hard work with a lot of compromising but that hard work and compromise should make you feel good not tear you down.

Larry and I have put the work into our marriage and will continue to put the work into it because “since we’ve been together ooh, loving you forever is what I need.”

Larry’s Perspective:

Great song Shannon gave to me. And this isn't a bubble-gum love song from Air Supply, Chicago, REO Speedwagon, etc. This is a fucking classic.

Why? Because to me it's scary.

It's scary because you want to believe the sentiment in the song, and that everything in the song is true. That someone else actually feels this way about you. That from their end, their sincerity and honesty is not taking advantage of any of your vulnerabilities.

It's scary because we've had the good. And we've had the bad. We've had the happy. And we've had the sad.

We've come close to the end of us at least twice - where the "D" word was discussed. 

I also cannot begin to convey the tragedies that have befallen Shannon over our time together, let alone prior to us meeting.

But through all of it, the underlying current has been Let's Stay Together. And when Shannon gave this song to me, I know she meant every single word of it...