They took turns leaving “shmily” around the house and as soon as one of them discovered it, it was their turn to hide it once more. They dragged “shmily” with their fingers through the sugar and flour containers, to await whoever was preparing the next meal.

They smeared it in the dew on the windows overlooking the patio (where my grandma always fed us warm, homemade pudding with blue food coloring).

“Shmily” was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath. At one point, my grandmother even unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper, to leave “shmily” on the very last sheet.

There was no end to the places “shmily” would pop up. Little notes with “shmily” scribbled hurriedly were found on dashboards and car seats, or taped to steering wheels. The notes were stuffed inside shoes and left under pillows.

“Shmily” was written in the dust upon the mantel and traced in the ashes of the fireplace. This mysterious word was as much a part of my grandparents’ house as the furniture.

It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grandparents’ game. Skepticism has kept me from believing in true love, one that is pure and enduring. However, I never doubted my grandparents’ relationship.

They had love down pat. It was more than their flirtatious little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship was based on a devotion and passionate affection, which not everyone is lucky to experience.

Grandma and Grandpa held hands every chance they could. They stole kisses, as they bumped into each other in their tiny kitchen. They finished each other’s sentences and shared the daily crossword puzzle and word jumble.

My grandma whispered to me about how cute my grandpa was, how handsome and old he had grown to be. She claimed that she really knew “how to pick ‘em.”

Before every meal they bowed their heads and gave thanks, marveling at their blessings: a wonderful family, good fortune and each other.

But, there was a dark cloud in my grandparents’ lives: my grandmother had breast cancer. The disease had first appeared ten years earlier.

As always, Grandpa was with her every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that way so that she could always be surrounded by sunshine, even when she was too sick to go outside.

Now the cancer was again attacking her body. With the help of a cane and my grandfather’s steady hand, they went to church every Sunday morning. But, my grandmother grew steadily weaker until, finally, she could not leave the house anymore.

For a while, Grandpa would go to church alone, praying to God to watch over his wife. Then one day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone.

“Shmily.” It was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother’s funeral bouquet. As the crowd thinned and the last mourners turned to leave, my aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time.

Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother’s casket and (taking a shaky breath) he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song came (a deep and throaty lullaby).

Shaking with my own sorrow, I will never forget that moment. I knew that, although I couldn’t begin to fathom the depth of their love, I had been privileged to witness its unmatched beauty.

“S-h-m-i-l-y: See How Much I Love You…”

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for letting me see.

As seen in “Chicken Soup for the Soul”, reprinted by GetRomantic.com with permission of the author.

In her later years, both my mom and dad lived in a life-care retirement center. Partially due to the stress of my mom’s Alzheimer’s condition, my dad became ill and was unable to care for her anymore. They lived in separate rooms, yet were together as much as they could be. They loved each other so much. Hand-in-hand, those silver-haired lovers would stroll the halls, visiting their friends; passing out love. They were the ‘romantics’ of the retirement center.

When I realized that her condition was worsening, I wrote her a letter of acknowledgment. I told her how much I loved her. I apologized for my orneriness when I was growing up. I told her that she was a great mother and I was proud to be her son. I told her things I had wanted to say for a long time and had been too stubborn to say until I realized she may or may not be in a position to comprehend the love behind the words. It was a detailed letter of love and of completion. My dad told me that she often would spend many hours reading and re-reading that letter.

It saddened me to know that my mom no longer knew I was her son. She would often ask, “Now, what was your name?” and I would proudly reply that my name was Larry and I was her son. She would smile and reach for my hand. I wish I could once again experience that special touch.

On one of my visits, I stopped by the local malt shop and bought her and my father a strawberry malt. I stopped by her room first, re-introduced myself to her, chatted for a few minutes and took the other strawberry malt to my dad’s room.

By the time I returned, she had almost finished the malt. She had laid down on the bed for a rest. She was awake. We both smiled when she saw me come into the room.

Without a word, I pulled a chair close to the bed and reached over to hold her hand. It was a Divine connection. I silently affirmed thoughts about my love for her. In the quiet I could feel the magic of our unconditional love even though I knew she was quite unaware of who was holding her hand. Or was she holding my hand?

After about 10 minutes, I felt her give my hand a tender squeeze. . . three squeezes. They were brief and instantly I knew what she was saying without having to hear any words.

The miracle of unconditional love is nurtured by the power of the Divine and our own imagination.

I couldn’t believe it! Even though she could no longer express her innermost thoughts like she used to, no words were necessary. It was as though she came back for a brief moment!

Many years ago when my father and she were dating, she had invented this very special way of telling my dad, “I love you!” while they were sitting in church. He would softly give her hand two squeezes to say, “Me too!”

I gave her hand two soft squeezes. She turned her head and gave me a loving smile I shall never forget. Her countenance radiated love.

I remembered her expressions of unconditional love for my father, our family, and her countless friends. Her love continues to profoundly influence my life.

Another eight to ten minutes went by. No words were spoken.

Suddenly she turned to me and quietly spoke these words. “It’s important to have someone who loves you.”

I wept. They were tears of joy. I gave her a warm and tender hug, told her how very much I loved her and left.

My mother passed away shortly after that.

Very few words were spoken that day; those she spoke were words of gold. I will always treasure those special moments.

As seen in “Chicken Soup for the Soul”, reprinted here with permission.

OOPS. Sorry. That’s the Love BOAT. Nevermind.

What do I think of love? Hmmm. Love is the most powerful force on the planet. People have fought and died for love. People have given up everything for love. They write songs about it, movies, TV shows, books and poems. For crying out loud, it’s the only emotion with its own holiday.

Love can make you higher than any drug, but can also make you feel like you got kicked in the gut. Love can make you do some pretty stupid things, like spray painting a name on a wall, or serenading someone outside their window.

Love is amazing. You can’t touch it, catch it or trap it. But, it’s out there, all around us all the time. So, you can fall in it pretty easily.

Honestly, love makes every morning worth waking up for. When you’re not in love, it still gives you hope. When you are in love, gives you answers — meaning. It’s finding the last piece to a really tough puzzle. It’s a contagious joy you want to share with everyone.

How can I make it simple?

Picture your favorite toy. Your Mom’s smile. Your best friend. Your coolest summer. Your first crush. And the puppy you got for your 4th birthday. Mix that with 3 or 4 of your best Christmases, multiply it by 100,000,000, and you MIGHT come close to what it’s like to truly be in love. You MIGHT.

There just arent enough words.

The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I–
The flower God opens so sweetly
In my hands would fade and die.

If I cannot unfold a rosebud
This flower of God’s design,
Then how can I think I have widom
To unfold this life of mine?

So I’ll trust in Him for His leading
Each moment of every day,
And I’ll look to Him for His guidance
Each step of the pilgrims’ way.

For the pathway that lies before me
My heavenly Father knows–
I’ll trust in Him to unfold the moments
Just as He unfolds the rose.

• Loving Words to Say
• Humor
• What is Love?
• Kissing Quotations
• On Life
• On Love and Relationships
• On Breaking Up
• On Smiling
• Friendship
• Inspiration
• Scripture

Loving Words to Say

“I’ve been waiting my whole life for you…now my waiting is through, you’re my dream come true.”

“Even if the sun refused to shine, even if romance ran out of rhyme; you would still have heart until the end of time. You’re all I need, my love, my Valentine.”

“I did three things today…miss you, miss you, and miss you.”

“I may grow old, but my heart will never grow tired of loving you.”

“Though miles may lie between us, we’re never far apart, for love doesn’t count the miles, it’s measured by the heart.”

“Certain chance occurences have caused our paths to meet. Destiny has joined our hearts and made our lives complete.”

“There’s no need to have an anniversary to celebrate. Everyday with you is a celebration.”

“A part of you has grown in me, and, so you see, it’s you and me, forever, and never apart; maybe in distance but never in heart.”

“Within you, I lose myself, without you, I find myself, searching to be lost again.”

“As I gaze upon your beauty, I think to myself, never have I seen an angel fly so low…”

“You make me want to be a better man.”

“It’s not being in love that makes me happy. It’s being in love with YOU that makes me happy.”

“I love you more now than when you began to read this sentence.”

“Do you know that it would take you forever to realize the extent of my love for you.”

“I wanna stand with you on a mountain, I wanna bath with you in the sea, I wanna lay like this forever, Until the sky falls down on me”
- Savage Garden

“I love my life because it gave you me. I love you because you are my life.”

“You’re the reason why I believe in love.”
- submitted by Kalie

“What joy is there in drinking wine when I am intoxicated by
your love?”
- Source Unknown

“I’ll sweep you off your feet, and make God regret he left an angel behind.”

“Now I’ve had the time of my life. No, I’ve never felt like this before. Yes I swear, it’s the truth, and I owe it all to you.”
- Dirty Dancing

“Many people have caught my eye, but only you have caught my heart.”

“From the moment I saw your eyes, looked into your soul, I knew I was in love with you.”
- submitted by Kelly

“You are that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”

“Every time I think of you, I always catch my breath”

“You’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be and I don’t want to go home right now”
- Goo Goo Dolls

“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I’de walk in my garden forever.”
- Author Unknown

“Forever meant nothing to me, until I met you.”
- Christina Marie Infanti

“When I’m with you nothing else matters”

“When you touched my hand for the first time, I wanted nothing
more than to hold it forever.”
- Source Unknown

“You make my heart smile”
- for Simone, love Chris

“There’s a smile in my heart that I’ve waited my whole life for.”
- Shyla

“When I find myself smiling, when I find myself laughing, when
I find my heart beating quickly or my eyes becoming brighter, it’s
because I’m thinking of you.”
- Source Unknown

Humor

“If you want him to fall head over heels, give him something to trip over!”

“Love is a perky elf dancing a merry little jig and then suddenly he turns on you with a miniature machine gun.”
- Matt Groening

“Due to recent cutbacks, the light at the end of the tunnel has been temporarily turned off.”
- Source Unknown

“I’d love to go out with you, but I’m rethreading my toothbrush bristles.”
- Source Unknown

“Nothing spoils the taste of peanut butter like unrequitted love.”
- Charlie Brown

“Love is a little thing shaped like a lizard. It runs up and down and tickles your gizard.”
- submitted by Melissa

What is Love?

“Love is like a friendship caught on fire.”
- Bruce Lee

“Love is like a storm. It is calm and soothing. It is natural and essential. It is powerful and fulfilling and nothing can get in it’s way.”

“Love is not about ‘It’s your fault’
But ‘I’m sorry’
Not ‘Where are you?’
But ‘I’m right here’
Not ‘How could you?’
But ‘I understand’
Not ‘I wish you were…’
But ‘I’m thankful that you are’”

submitted by Trins

“Love is waking up to find the subject of your dream sleeping next to you.”

“Love is an irrestible desire to be irrestibly desired.”
- Robert Frost

“To love someone is nothing, To be loved by someone is something, To be loved by someone that you love is everything.”
- submitted by Sarah

“Love is like standing on wet cement, the longer you stay the harder it
is to leave, and after awhile you can’t go without leaving your shoes.”
– submitted by Sarah

“Anything worth fighting for is love. And that’s a damn good fight.”
- submitted by Kelly

Kissing Quotes

“Kissing is like drinking salt water; you drink and your thirst increases.”

“A Kiss is just another reminder that two heads are better than one.”

“I wasn’t kissing her, I was whispering in her mouth.”
- Chico Maroc

“A kiss is something you can not give without taking, and can not take without giving.”
- Anonymous

“Smile, it’s the second best thing you can do with your lips.”
- Author Unknown

“You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.”

“Nothing breaks the silence like a kiss”

“…she could kiss the ground in the winter time and make a flower grow.”
– submitted by KS

“Hugs and kisses are ways to express what cannot be said”
- submitted by Kacie Conroy

“My heart smiled when you kissed my lips, what a sweet surprise”
- Jan Arden

On Life

“You may only be one person to the world but you may also be the world to one person!”

“Don’t be reckless with other peoples hearts, and don’t let anyone be reckless with yours.”
- Source Unknown

“God gave people a mouth that closes and ears that don?t, which should tell us something.”
- Source Unknown

“Never miss an oportunity to enrich someone’s life.”

“To sharpen your understanding is to soften your heart”

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people, than you will in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”
- Dale Carnegie

“And I don’t regret the rain, or the nights I felt the pain, or the tears I had to cry some of those times along the way. Every road I had to take, every time my heart would break; it was just something that I had to get through, to get me to you.”
- From the Hope Floats soundtrack, “To Get Me To You”

On Love and Relationships

“I chased after love for what seemed forever, but it was when I stopped to take a rest that it found me.”

“My wish is not to mean everything to everyone but to mean something to someone.”

“To be loved is to live forever in someone’s heart.”

“Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrong doing. It does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres.”

“The love in your heart. Wasn’t put there to stay. Love isn’t love until you give it away.”

“Love can touch us one time and last for a lifetime, and never let go til we’re gone”
- Titanic

“Anything worth my love is worth a fight”
- from the movie “Footlose”

“In life we do not know how many loves the Lord will send us, but we do know that one day he’ll send the right one.”
- Source Unknown

“You don’t love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her.”
- Anonymous

“Love doesn’t make the world go ’round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.”
- Franklin P. Jones

“If there is anything better than to be loved, it is loving.”
- Anonymous

“When you love someone, say it or else the moment will pass.”
- My Best Friend’s Wedding

“Now in a cottage built of lilacs and laughter I know the
meaning of the words ‘ever-after’.”
- Polka Dots & Moonbeams

“I respect, admire and adore her, for she is my love, my life, one day my wife and mother to my children.”

“The only thing far more important than telling me how you feel is letting me know how you feel.”

“You say it best, when you say nothing at all…”
- Allison Krause

“Sometimes the heart sees what the mind cannot.”

“The most precious possession that ever comes to a man in this world is a woman’s heart.”
- Josiah G. Holland

“Don’t marry a person you can live with, marry somebody you can’t live without.”

“A great lover is not a man who romances a different woman every night. A great lover is one who romances the same woman for a lifetime.”
- Source Unknown

“Nothing in this world is single, All things by a law divine, In one spirit meet and mingle. Why not I with thine?”
- Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Whoever said it is better to loved and lost, than never to have loved at all, must have never had their heart broken.”

“True love cannot be found where it does not exist…nor can it be
hidden where it truly does.”

“Love either is or it isn?t.”
- Source Unknown

“Whoever said it is better to loved and lost, than never to have loved at all, must have never had their heart broken.”
- Source Unknown

Falling in love is awfully simple, but falling out of love is simply awful.”
- submitted by Joe Vautour

“Your love is like a river, peaceful and deep.
Your soul is like a secret that I never could keep.
When I look into your eyes I know that it’s true,
God must have spent a little more time on you.”

- (NSYNC), submitted by Angela

“Anything less than mad, passionate, extraordinary love, is a waste of time. There are too many mediocre things in life and love shouldn’t be one of them.”

“It’s hard to pretend that you love someone if you really don’t.
But it’s harder to pretend that you don’t love someone if you really do.”

– submitted by Trins

“The eyes whisper ‘I love you dear’,
The lips move no words appear,
When your heart is true, sincere and real,
What the lips hide the eyes reveal.”

– submitted by Trins

“I would rather have 30 minutes of wonderful, than a lifetime of nothing
special.”
- Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias

“The world is full of light when the heart is full of love.”

“I will bring you a whole person, You will bring me a whole person, And we will have us twice as much, Of love and everything.”
- Mari Evans

“You should have a softer pillow than my heart.”
- Lord Byron (submitted by Matt Buttram)

“No love, no friendship, can cross the path of our destiny without leaving a mark on it forever.”
- Matt Buttram

“Two hearts, two minds, in time did find one love, one aim two paths the same. Hold fast. . . and love will last.”
- Matt Buttram

“You never lose by loving, you lose by holding back”
- submitted by Krystal

“It is not enough to love those who are near and dear to us.
We must also show them that we do so.”
- Lord Avebury

“If I die never having loved, then I die never having lived.”

On Breaking up

“I shall go the way of the open sea,
To the lands I knew before you came,
And the cool ocean breezes shall blow from me
The memory of your name.”
- Laurence Hope

“You seemed sad to see me go.
And that made me happy all the way home.”

– submitted by Anonymous

“A good-bye is only painful if you know you’ll never say hello again.”

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

“Dance as if nobody’s watching. Love as if it’s never gonna hurt.”

“Some say hanging onto someone is what makes you strong…but sometimes it is letting go.”

“If you love something, set it free, If it comes back to you, it’s yours,
If it doesn’t, it never was.”

“Just because you love someone it doesn’t mean that he or she is the one for you.”
- John Gray

On Smiling

“A smile is the heart’s way of breathing.”
- Author Unknown

“Never frown for you never know when someone is falling in
love with your smile.”
- Author Unknown

“You make my heart smile”
- for Simone, love Chris

“If every word I said could make you smile… I’d talk
forever.”
- Author Unknown

“There’s a smile in my heart that I’ve waited my whole life for.”
- Shyla

“When I find myself smiling, when I find myself laughing, when
I find my heart beating quickly or my eyes becoming brighter, it’s
because I’m thinking of you.”
- Source Unknown

On Friendship

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.”
- Anonymous

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”
- Walter Winchell

“I wish that all who were dearest to me,
could also be those who were nearest.”

– submitted by Campbell

“Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer.”
- Ed Cunningham

“A friend is one who knows us, but loves us anyway.”
- Fr. Jerome Cummings

“A friend hears the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.”
- Anonymous

Inspiration

“When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we fail to see the one that has opened for us.”
- Alexander Graham Bell

“Lord, there is nothing that can happen to me today that you and I can’t handle together.”

“Serenity Prayer”
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change,
The strength to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.”

“You did then what you knew best, and now that you know better you will do better.”
- Oprah Winfrey

“What sometimes appears to be the end is really just a new beginning.”

“When adversity strikes some people buy crutches…others grow wings.”

“You don’t drown by falling into the water. You drown by staying there.”
- Nathan Morgan

“Sometimes rain and cloudy skies are really blessings in disguise.”

Scripture

“Come near to God and and he will come near to you.” (James 4:8)

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7)

“The Lord is my shepherd, I am never in need. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside peaceful waters. He renews my soul. He guides me along the paths of righteousness for the sake of his name.” (Psalm 23:1-3)

“God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in times of trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)