"Falling in love was easy—when romantic attraction was combined with hungry, unsated desire, they formed a glamorous, glittering bauble as fragile as it was alluring, a bauble that could shatter as soon as it was grasped. Tenderness was a different story. It had staying power and the promise of a future."
—Robyn Donald, Tiger, Tiger
Hey darling- I have missed you so.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post. Tenderness...kindness...
Are you well?
Dear Mary, I've been a little quiet but I'm here reading. So much going on, and so much work (thankfully), and I am traveling to Jamaica in a week to see my mom, who sounds even more frail on the phone recently. But overall, I am well, and trying to stay centered, trying not to let those anxious noisy brain thoughts take center stage.
DeleteSizzle.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, indeed. Tenderness is the real sizzle isn't it. Or am I just a woman of a certain age?
DeleteLove the quote, and what an interesting couple of images. Our tender selves need protection sometimes, but then again, a hard hat wouldn't let us give freely, would it?
ReplyDeleteSteve, I was so struck by that image. It seemed to me a moment of intense tenderness, and there it was amid a construction site, a hard hat area, cranes and steel and rudely painted plywood the backdrop to the gentleness and lovingness of the hand at her cheek. I also kind of loved the androgyny of it; when I first looked I thought they were two men, although the boy is very beautiful too and it could just as easily be two women. Mostly I loved the juxtaposition of the image and its surroundings. Perhaps a hard hat does protect our tender selves, and protected thus, we have it to give. Thanks for your thought-provoking comment.
DeleteWow...visually thought provoking and that quote is dead on...Our tenderest selves do sometimes require protection, but without them, we would be empty, a scary thought since so much can spring from tender feelings.
ReplyDeletee, you're so right, so much springs from tender feeling, maybe the best things. xo
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