Love and marriage lessons I learned from my own stories

candy-heartsIn recent weeks I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing some pretty exceptional people for our “Love, Dating, Relationships and Disabilities” series on easterseals.com, and the people I’ve spoken to have completely changed my perspective on what this love and relationships thing is all about.

These extraordinary individuals have taught me that love and relationships are not all about milestones and destinations. What makes love worthwhile is everything that takes place during the journey.

For Beth and Mike, a genuine conversation about Beth’s Type 1 Diabetes (and its potential complications) lead to Mike’s marriage proposal by the family Christmas tree during the holidays. That genuine conversation? It let Mike know that Beth was the one for him. Beth would eventually go blind as a result of her diabetes, but Mike vowed to be there throughout the journey.

For Palmer Williams, who is paralyzed from the waist down, it was the process of planning the little details of her outdoor wedding. Certain details needed to be modified during the planning process, but Palmer is resourceful, and her family and friends surrounded her with all the love — and help — she needed to make her wedding the amazing day it was. Example: Palmer’s concern about getting down the aisle was answered after her father built an aisle runner made of white plywood for his daughter’s special day.

And I’ll never forget the stories that were shared by the O’Sullivans and the Demers, two couples that have been married for 50 years. Their love has always been enough to withstand the challenges they’ve faced over the decades, including Alzheimer’s disease.

These stories taught me that everyone’s journey is different, and the entire “Love, Dating, Relationships and Disabilities” series has shown me that love is not a “one-size-fits-all” kind of thing. Love, dating and relationships can be challenging for people of all abilities, but once you’ve met the right person, it makes all of the challenges worthwhile.

Visit Easterseals.com/love for dating and relationship advice and stories. We’ve even got some very unique marriage proposal stories for you, too!


 

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