Totally! Our “love rules” are shaped by the stories we grew up with — whether it’s friends’ or relatives’ marriage anecdotes, or the latest romance novel, and in my case the movies with endless romantic songs. LOL. It’s funny how much TV and movies sneak into our expectations. We end up chasing that perfect scene, not realizing that real love is messy, unexpected, and far more interesting...

Those rare couples who still look at each other with teenage awe after decades... they give hope. But like you said, most of us are busy managing timelines, expectations, and fears — we often settle into something quieter, maybe safer. And sometimes, that can grow into something beautiful too, if not romantic in the textbook sense...

Perhaps the betrayals you mention happen because most of us are not willing — aside from which, it's hardly PRACTICAL — to wait for such a lightning stike to happen. Whether we feel pressured by social convention or our own insecurities, we end up (trying?) embracing something more modest.

"Most people are not really looking for love. They're looking for someone to make them feel loved."
— Neil Strauss

Thank you for noticing the lamp ;)))