Prologue

The story begins by defining love through the eyes of a child as it pertains to pets, family, and objects (think Linus and his blanket).  Freud’s psychosexual development stages are relevant.  Then, we’ll move on to describe friendship, adolescence, causal dating, hooking up, and college students’ attitudes about love.  From there, the story progresses to mate selection and marriage.  The story ends with older couples, describing how their love has changed over time.  In each section, I describe the type of work that is inherent in love at that stage in life.

My love story focuses on several members of my family and friends as key examples.  So here’s the cast of characters:

Harold – my grandpa; aka “Knuck”

Arlene – my grandma; aka “Doll”

Pat – my older brother

Olivia – Pat’s wife

Isaac – Pat’s son; my nephew; he’s only two years old, but he’s the true star of the family and sections of this blog

Bekah – my best friend, who has had a much more exciting love life than I have

Ellie – my best friend since age three (yes, it’s possible to have two best friends); recently married
Since I'm a visual person, here's your cheat sheet:

Ellie is the bride

 Olivia, me, and Pat holding Isaac

 Bekah is the bride

My grandparents (Harold and Arlene - both wearing blazers), uncle, his girlfriend, mom, and me

Setting:

Knuck and Doll star in the love among the aged section, as they will celebrate their 63^rd wedding anniversary in February.

Pat, Olivia, and Isaac are highlighted in the posts on Freudian analysis, children’s emotional socialization, and child-object love.

Bekah is the star of the sections on hooking up, mate selection, and marriage; Ellie is also featured in the latter two sections.