Come play with... Companionship.

At work the other day I had a very interesting discussion with a very sweet elderly lady.

She needed to have some accommodation booked as she was travelling down south to attend the funeral of a dear friend that she had known since she was 11 years old.

In typical helpful Corkin-Style I managed to get her into a bridal suite for a price of a standard double, in order to hope that some comfort my come from her stay. She said if it's really nice she might just extend her stay a few days. It's really nice how in her older years she has the freedom to make (or not make as the case was) decisions for herself. Without the need to contemplate the needs of others.

Though our discussion we covered many topics, many of which my colleague believed to be inappropriate. I merely believed that it was inappropriate for him to be listening in and should have bloody well minded his own business. But anyway...

One topic which came up was love, or the true rarity of it in it's purest form in this life. I found it strange how honest she was about it, and she made a point that... 

'Young people these days spend too long waiting for the 'one' to come along. In the meantime their life flashes before their eyes and once they hit my age they become sad, lonely, bitter old women. In the end, all you need is someone to share the space with, who doesn't annoy you too much and who, if your lucky, makes you laugh. Due to the shift in gender roles over the past few decades women believe that due to the fact that they earn roughly the same if not more than men, and are completely able to depend on themselves financially, that they shouldn't need to settle. But inside the grand apartment, behind the designer clothes and underneath the expensive makeup. We all get lonely.'

Wow. Who can honestly say that that sad, and painfully truthful statement doesn't change the way that you look at your past/present relationships? Possibly even, the relationship between your parents and your grandparents... etc?

I guess life is as real as it gets. No fantasies here. And should you feel happy? Or relieved? To understand that there ISN'T someone out there just for you? The grass will never be greener? And to make the most of your given situation? 

Or sad that the illusive lover who should one day sweep your off your feet and take your hand as you run away together into the sunset; is nothing other than fiction? If anything, by thinking about this in more detail, it does make the idealistic view of true love seem, almost, juvenile, doesn't it?