The only real love is unconditional: all the rest is a "bargain"....

Old age has its rewards.  One is the wisdom to realize that the only real love is unconditional.

Reflecting over my own life, I realize and appreciate the unconditional love my parents gave me.  There was nothing expected in return.  They, like most parents, worked hard and sacrificed for their children.  In fact, my parents always put me and my brothers, and our happiness, first.  What a precious gift to receive in life.

I recall going to Guida's ice cream on Farmington Avenue in New Britain back in the 1950s when I was a little boy.  The three of us kids would have an ice cream cone.  Because my parents were saving for a home, they would not order an ice cream cone for themselves, but were merely content to eat what remained from our cones.  If that's not love, I don't know what is.

It seems that dogs and cats, and most wildlife, do a better job loving unconditionally than most humans.  Did you ever notice how your dog adored you even in your ugliest of moods, merely content just to have you pet them?

I have witnessed so many so-called "love" relationship and marriages predicated upon an implicit understanding of some sort of reciprocation.  You give me something; and I will give you something back.  To me that seems more of a business arrangement than love.  You know, the old, "you give me a nice home and life, and I will give you in return all my appreciation and affection."  And what happens if one reneges or is unable to reciprocate?  Perry Mason?

Yes, in my old age, I realize that the only real love is unconditional.  Anything based on the expectation of something in return is not love but, at best, an arrangement of convenience.