I’m walking in my favorite forest. It’s not a forest forest, it’s a city forest, but still, it makes me happy.
I see a heart carved into a tree, with the initials J + D Forever. I see many more hearts carved into many more trees and I wonder if any of the couples are still together. Did some of them marry? Adopt a dog? Visit Italy? Have babies?
I wish there was a couple update on each tree, to let us know how they fared:
Jess & Maria fell in love, married and adopted two cats. Maria had five affairs before asking Jess for a trial separation. When Jess found out about her infidelity he said: “you’re kidding me about the trial right? I mean we’re obviously skipping right to the divorce part. And by the way fuck you and I’m keeping the cats.”
AND
Mike and Robert fell in love, then out of love, then in love again and this continued for three years. When they had used up all of their therapy sessions – the ones covered by medical insurance – they called it quits.
AND
Tara & Finn are still together. They live next door to each other in a duplex and share a silver Prius and a grey Schnauzer named Marty. They can’t decide if global warming makes having a baby selfish. Would it feel like welcoming a child into the apocalypse?
“So sorry about the fires, earthquakes, heatwaves, droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes and ice storms. But we hope you thrive and live your best life little one!”
Tara has frozen her eggs until they can reach a decision.
I’m trying to remember if I ever carved my initials into a tree when I was young. No, I don’t think I did. Though there were some really cute early romances and I wish I had taken photos, (this was pre-cell phones), because my God it would be fun to look at my fashion & boy choices.
Instead of carving initials into a tree I would play the game True Love. Not sure if it still exists, but this is how you play it:
1. Write your full name + the full name of your potential love interest on a piece of paper.
2. Below the names write True Love.
3. Now the math begins: How many letters do your names have in common with the letters in the words “True Love.”
Example: Mary Ellen Brett + Eric Shields
T – 2
R – 3
U – 0
E – 5
L – 3
O – 0
V – 0
E – 5
Total: 10 + 8 = 108%
Oh My God, Eric Shields and I are meant to be! We are 108% matched together!
True Love was an early version of the dating apps. If you liked someone and you scored only 68%, it would give you pause. Although like any other red flag, we probably ignored it.
🚩
sparkledame 