Long-Term Life Goals...

Last night I was asked what my long-term life goal was. It got me thinking.

This morning I was grabbing a Rasberry Light White Berry coffee from Caribou, and as I looked out the window, I saw a 40+ year old couple embracing, kissing, making googling eyes at each other and smiling before saying goodbye for the day. It got me thinking.

They say that Parisians--or Europeans in general are more romantic than Americans, more willing to outwardly disply affection. While my travels to Europe have been limited to The Netherlands and Belgium, I've never been able to witness this activity first-hand, but I'm left with the impression from others that making-out and showing affection in public is quite prominent over the Atlantic. This gets me thinking.

I've always grown-up and lived a life of restricted public displays of affection while struggling internally with the reality that all I wanted to do was embrace the woman I loved, all the time--everywhere! But I have always been inhibited by my upbringing and thoughts about impropriety. I value my woman, I respect her, I love her, and while wanting to express that to her in the most appealing and obvious of ways as viewed in the mind of a woman (in public), it is an unfortunate reality that I've always given more consideration to other people seeing my love for her over her ability to actually experience it fully, without restrictions, without inhibitions, in public. I now regret that. I now realize that I should always, regardless of my insecurities, regardless of the hesitation and fear of being viewed as inapropriate by public bystanders, I should always put my emotional needs and wants--and those of my loved one first, and express my true emotions whenever and as often as possible.

Women crave uninhibited passion. Women want their man to express his love for them, not only at home and behind closed doors, but also to the world. A woman feels more secure in her relationship with her man when he is willing to scream to the world, "this is my woman, this is the woman I love, and this is how much." They find it troublesome when their man won't outwardly express his affection in public, because they feel like the man is not proud of her and their relationship. Right? --At least I think this is the case.

So...back to the original question that was asked of me last night: What is my long-term life goal? The answer is simple and unequivical. I want to be Norman Thayer, and I want to experience life with my Ethel Thayer. (See: On Golden Pond) I want to love my woman fully, openly, without restrictions, and without considering others views of impropriety. I want to walk on the beach, hand-in-hand with her and embrace the woman I love with my entire heart; that I would die for; that I do not want to live without, because she is my other half, she is my heart. I want to carry her heart in my heart 'til the end of days--and beyond, and I want people--everyone, to know that she is my everything.

This is my long-term life goal. This is where I want to be.