Love stories

Why is it that we are so in love with love stories? I think it is our innate desire to share our lives with another person. To know that we connect on some deeply personal level with another human being. To know that we are not alone in this world, and that there is at least one other person (that's not our mom or dad) out there who cares if we get home safely, are sick, had an argument with our best friend, are lonely, and who knows our secrets and still wants to snuggle up to us at the end of the day.

Lately there have been several studies, that Hollywood love stories set men and relationships up to fail, because they give women unfair expectations of men and those relationships. The thing about it is, love stories have caught our imagination and allowed us to dream - Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, Shakespeare, etc. - long before Hollywood came along and put it on film.

Relationships are hard work. It's two people trying to make one life. It's two people learning to give and take in equal proportions. It's two people learning to forgive and REALLY forget, not just store it away until it can be used again. I'm not saying that life is ever like it is in the movies. I have yet to stop in the middle of something and say "wow, this is just like in the movies". Yet, I think love stories serve a very important role in our lives - they give us hope. Hope, that in this oftentimes dark and hurtful world there is a love for each of us. Will my relationship ever be like a Meg Ryan & Tom Hanks movie? No. Can I learn things from watching one of those movies that might help my relationship? I think you can. I am not a psychologist, I am not a film critic. I don't know if these kinds of movies really do more damage than good. I just know I like them. They make me smile, laugh, cry and in a way love more intensely.

So, here I sit on the day before Valentine's Day offering you a list of some of my favorite love stories. Pick one or two and watch them tomorrow, and then AFTER talk about what was realistic, and what was not...you might be surprised at your conversation.

My favorite movie love stories (in no particular order)

1. Casablanca
2. Sleepless in Seattle
3. Doctor Zhivago
4. Notting Hill
5. Hope Floats
6. Pride and Prejudice
7. An Affair to Remember
8. Gone With The Wind
   
9. Return To Me
10. Chocolate'
11. Sound of Music
12. The Shop Around the Corner/You've Got Mail
13. A Room With A View
14. Philadelphia Story
15. When Harry Met Sally