Came across this blog entry chatting about the subject of past loves. I think this is a very interesting subject, especially because many daters ask me about loves that have long left their lives but who still remain a part of their minds. And why is that? Why do the people we once loved still stick in our memories so very deeply?

I'm reminded of a woman I once worked with who was happily married for over ten years. I had a chance to see her and her husband out several times, and at each outing I silently noted how genuinely happy they seemed.

Despite her happy marriage, she had kept letters from her first love unbeknownst to her husband. The letters were at least fifteen years old, and every once in a while she took them out and read them. Her husband found out about this one day and was incredibly hurt and angry.

I found myself siding with him. Why did she keep these letters? Why did she read them? Surely the small part of her esteem that got built up by reading a love letter from someone else wasn't worth the hurt that she placed within her marriage. It didn't matter that she hadn't seen the guy in several years, the fact that she still held this unrealized ideal bothered her husband. As if she had a fantasy that only someone else could fulfill.

I seriously doubt if she saw this long lost love again they would hit it off with sparks flying behind them. But given this fantasy she's kept up for so many years, I have to wonder. Is the "what if" stronger than happiness in the present? Are people every really content with the love they have now?