The Map to My Sweet Heart

My Valentine came home with a lovely heart shaped box of Russell Stover fine chocolates for me this week.  My initial reaction to candy is always "Great, you brought me five more pounds of ass fat! You hopeless romantic!"  I do, however, like it, of course, and find it is more worth my time and gluttony session if it comes in a cliche red heart shaped box.  I'm a sucker for staples, and symbols...and presentation, and, oh, hell, they're just fun!  The candy box heart is a good symbol and metaphorical gift.  It says, "Darlin', take my big, fully-loaded sweet heart!!  OH!  AND, here is a helpful map so as to avoid your least favorite parts and likewise find all the best pieces in me!!"

The idea of mapping out your heart makes much sense.  It almost seems like that should be an initial part of all new relationships.  Forget vows, celebrate the exchanging of your heart maps.  Think of how much heartache and time could be saved if it were that easy?  The truth is, I guess, that everyone HAS a heart map, per say, it just isn't laid out as simple as it is in the chocolate world.  A lot more gets lost in translation.  So we spend months, years, and decades getting to know our partners and find the best route to the different chambers of their heart.  Sometimes we devour what we find, sometimes we spit it out.  Sometimes we just put it back in there and hope whoever finds it next likes it better...and doesn't so much mind the bite marks and lip stick ring we left?

I wish I could be as helpful to my husband as a heart map is for chocolates.  I wish I could warn him beforehand which pieces have been all eaten up, which have been picked at, and which have been left for the next.  I could warn him about the maple nut butter, or the maple nut cream.  How many chocolate truffles are left?  Am I only nouget and coconut cream in there?  My heart map, like a trail of emotional bread crumbs I have left over my lifetime, is there.  Like everyone else's, it is continuously being drawn and presented over time.  It resides in cues and stories and reactions and gazes and habits and passions and words and embraces.  I'm no cartographer, but I do my best to maintain a legible heart map for my husband, because let's face it, man can easily become lost in the deep forest of woman, and likewise.  Understanding and finding your way is a team effort.  Joey does a pretty damn good job at finding his way through my heart, and doesn't seem to mind being left with my discarded fruit and nut clusters.

Do you give good directions?

Musing Through,
Missie Sue