It occurred to me just now that all anyone (read: I) wants is to feel appreciated, special, beautiful, loved. Damn. Irreplaceable. Like if you were gone, a huge chunk would be missing from this one person's life. The feeling like you don't really have to do anything to be appreciated, but you will (and do) anything anyway. You'd drive a long ways. You'd listen to bad music. You'd put up with it all. Because it's worth it.

I've brushed up against this unconditional love a few times in my life. This is how my parents love me, I know--but when someone loves you out of their own free will in this way, it just about blows you away. This is why love is so hard, because you are putting this massive feeling on the line. If you let yourself be loved in this way by a person, there is always the chance that it won't last, and you wonder if the pain afterwards would be worth the love you get.

I suppose it's not unconditional love if it can be gone eventually. I want to believe in this more than I'd like to admit.