Candles

My grandchildren left the house one morning and I started thinking about how much I love them and that set off a long train of thought about love and the amazing capacity we humans have for that emotion.

I remember when I was pregnant with my second baby I worried about how I would feel about it when it was born. My love for my first child was so intense and so strong I couldn't imagine that I could ever feel the same way about another living thing. I was totally wrong of course, and as any parent knows we love each of our children more than we can believe, despite the fact that they always claim one of the others is a "favorite". We know better.

And the same thing has happened with grandchildren, As each one has come along (seven now) I've wondered if I would feel the same love for them as I had for the others, and of course I do. Each one is unique and amazing and I adore them all. Each has a special place in my heart. And I can't imagine my life without them.

So I've come to the conclusion that love is very much like the light of a candle. Although we can't imagine the capacity we have for it, it's there. And just like a candle on a birthday cake, as one lights the other the flame is not diminished, but each one shines as brightly as the one next to it. I think love is like that. No matter how much we already have, we can light the next candle with it and the flames will be exactly alike, neither diminished by the sharing. What an amazing thing the human heart is.