I’d say about 90% of the time, she does nothing. Literally. She simply lies there. She can’t tell me a joke or run an errand. She doesn’t ask me how I’m feeling or give me birthday presents. She can’t even roll over or lift her head.

But I love her.

She’s my daughter.

From the moment she shattered my 6-year-old understanding of what my family was and broke into my world, I was taken by her, smitten with an unconditional love. Pink and wiggly with eyes that could barely open, I knew that I would do anything for her. Forever. Even now, when she can do nothing for me.

Photo Credit – Getty Images: Studio Paggy

So can’t talk or walk, clean up after herself, or help with dinner. She never changes her own clothes or gives herself a bath. She doesn’t care to let me sleep more than three hours at once or spend my free time on personal hobbies.

And yet I’m not angry because I love her.

She’s my daughter.

The best writers – especially those with a spiritual touch – have tried for ages to capture the definition of unconditional love. The limits of language only leave us with similes and metaphors for what such a love could be like. Omnipotent gods are said to love frail humanity with such a love, but being the object of unconditional love doesn’t quite make its reality clear in your mind. Maybe that’s the point. Because you can offer no reciprocal gift, you don’t quite realize that a transaction is even taking place.

Omnipotent gods don’t spit up on you when you just changed clothes or cry when they’re hungry in the middle of the night.

I held her in my arms and looked at her 8-hour-old face and knew that I loved her with a unique and unconditional love. She could do nothing for me. There was no material benefit she provided in my life, and still, I loved her.

My love for my wife – while unconditional now – was once predicated on attraction and compatibility. While dating, interests and conversations had to be aligned or appreciated before a mysterious, irrational, overwhelming love could swoop in and swaddle us. And now, nearly eight years after falling in love with her, we’ve created not just a baby who will look like us, but we’ve created a category of love that stands beyond us and consumes us, taking us to a point where we love like we’ve never loved before.

All You Need Blogger: Sam Davidson

Sam is a brand new dad trying to figure out how to love his daughter unconditionally. He sometimes writes at his blog (samdavidson.net/blog) and always writes at CoolPeopleCare.org.  He doesn’t have any dogs, but hopes to own two someday; he already has names picked out for them.

Song: David Wilcox – Show the Way

Love is a trial and error process, in which my errors outnumber my successes.

I don’t say this from a place of self-deprecation, but more from a place of understanding. Because, love, to me, is a big and confusing mess and I still have no clue how to fall in love, never mind actually being in it.

I send one too many emails.

One too many text messages.

Make one too many phone calls.

And, it’s only because these rules, these boundaries, these YOU MUST BE CHASED guidelines don’t at all fit in with who I am. Because, let’s be real here, when I find someone who I connect with, male or female, I want to pursue them with such ferociousness that it probably makes them uncomfortable. If I find a woman that is awesome, I want to scream, “BE MY BFF!” from on top of my little mountain. And, if I find a guy that stops me in my tracks and grabs my attention, then I want to send cute emails and text messages and hang out with them and and AND et cetera.

Photo Credit: Getty Images – Jan Mammey

But, all of this, more times than not, ends me up with tons of BFFs and a lot of guys who push me away at first only to try to pull me back in once my attention has moved on. Apparently, it’s all too much until it’s gone. And, then I just get annoyed. And I want to throw rocks at the boy. And, at this point, I’ve already moved onto another sick cycle of me acting like a total fool.

Except, you know what? I’m fine being the fool. It’s weeding the wrong people out and is getting me closer to finding someone who’s going to write me cute one-line emails that are so witty and amazing, I find it hard to concentrate on anything else but THEM.

Someone who will wake up before me, walk to Starbucks, buy me a Venti Vanilla Latte, bring it to me in bed, and finish it off with a simple kiss on the forehead.

Someone who will see that my attention is worthwhile in the moment, not just something they realize in retrospect, months after I’ve already moved on.

And, here’s how I see it: I either find someone who thinks it’s adorable that I’m so terribly impatient to see them again and that makes them fall madly and deeply in love with me. Or, I find someone that is about 2% more ferocious than I am and they can’t help but make me fall madly and deeply in love with them.

Because, I want to get this love thing right. And, if that means I need to act like a fool a few more times, then so be it.

Love is far more important than pride, right?

RIGHT!?

All You Need Blogger: Jamie Varon

Jamie blogs about far too personal topics and has a desire to make a lot of blogs look really pretty. She likes traveling, hot chocolate, typography, and the occasional (ok, FREQUENT) glass of white wine. Also, she has an uncanny ability to wear dresses almost every single day, no matter what the weather. It’s a skill, truly, it is.  Follow her on Twitter @jamievaron

Song: Kate Nash – The Nicest Thing

Is love enough?

Well.

Is it?

Do you think that The Beatles were correct when they sang “All you need is love”?

Do you think that all it takes is to fall in love with someone?

That you can overcome any challenge, any obstacle, and any struggle if you have love?

Love is powerful, but is it that powerful?

Photo Credit – Cati Kaoe (Flickr)

In a day where nearly 50% of marriages end in divorce, is it still relevant to argue that love is “enough”?

Trust me, I’m not a “love expert.” I’m no Will Smith in Hitch and I’m no Dr. Phil. I am, however, currently engaged to a wonderful fiance, which makes me believe I either know a little bit on the topic or just got incredibly lucky. In this “month of love,” I don’t want to make love seem like something less than it is.

After all, as someone (my source said Sean Connery, Elisa Google-stalked it and found it attributed to some guy named Franklin P. Jones) said: “Love may not make the world go round, but I must admit that it makes the ride worthwhile.”

I just want to be a realist and treat love for what it is, not what it isn’t.

In order for a relationship to “go the distance,” you DO need love, but you also need some other things.

You need TRUST. You need to be able to know that your other will be there for you when you need them. Ask Tiger about this one.

You need PATIENCE. There will be times when you’re annoyed or when you go through struggles, you need to persevere and not give up on it. When you have little rascals running around your house screaming, while your spouse is asking you to help with dinner, this may come in handy.

You need COMPROMISE. No, you can’t always have your way, even if you are the girl. You have to make sacrifices.

Elisa asked us all to choose a song, and I feel this one is appropriate, as it shows that even though a couple will get old and go through many stages, the key things that are at the heart of that relationship, they remain the same.

Your bones may get weak, your skin may get wrinkled, you may go through a mid-life crisis, and you may drive a lot slower. But the one thing that should still be there is your love and the tenets that your relationship were built on. Trust, patience, and compromise will become a whole lot more important as you mature.

The song is about a couple whose love, though they may have aged, has remained as strong as it was the day they met.

What do you think? Is love enough for you? If not, what are other characteristics of a relationship that must exist?

All You Need Blogger: Jackie Adkins

Jackie Adkins is a 20-something blogger who hangs out over at The Curbside Marketer. Although he usually delves into marketing and social media, he’s getting ready to get hitched later this year to his fiance, so he’s decided to talk a little about love. Check out his RSS to hang out with him in the future.

Song: Mark Schultz – Walking Her Home