The L Word.

It is a word that "never ends". A word that is so passionate and tender. A word that is used too often and usually too soon.

The word is…Love.

We all feel it, towards our families, our partners, and our friends but is the idea of loving someone becoming extinct?

A parent’s love is unconditional…or that’s what I was brought up to believe. But you only have to turn the TV on to find Jeremy Kyle or Trisha trying to sort out some feud between a parent and their “unruly children”.

Does it make us lose faith?

Not for me.

I know that my parents will always be there for me, no matter what. They have been there for me in the past and I am eternally grateful, and now that I am older and hopefully wiser, I hope they know that I will always be there for them.

But what other kind of love is there? Is everyone else just there to fill in the gaps?

After seeing P.S. I love you; I am not sure how I feel about the L word.

Every time I see a romantic film, my gut reaction is “Will I ever find someone like this? Someone to sweep me off my feet and give me butterflies in my stomach?”

I am hopeful, but I think guys like that only exist in Rom-Com’s and our imaginations. (Sorry to my fellow singletons…Shattering your dreams like that.)

But one thing the film did make me realise is that you don’t need romance to make you who you are, or make you loved.

Holly (in the film, not me unfortunately), was lucky enough to find the man of her dreams, who loved her just as much and cherished her until “death us do part”.

Of course, like all films do, this was sooner than expected and as the story goes, Gerry (her belated husband) guided Holly through her grievances by sending letters and messages after he died.

In my eyes this was thoughtful, romantic, and utterly beautiful. My friend, Kerry, on the other hand thought it was ‘disgusting’ and ‘selfish’…So unromantic!

But the ending put the whole film into context for me.

For all she didn’t agree with the marriage, particularly like her daughters choice in husband or think the whole letter idea (much like Kerry) was a good idea…Her mother was the saviour.

It turns out in the end…after a lot of speculation and questions – How is he doing it? Is he still alive? How did he know she would be there? – Holly’s mum was helping him out.

To me…That is love.

I hope one day I do fall in love, find the man of my dreams and live happily ever after like in the movies.

But I know that I will always have people who love me for who I am and will always be therefore me, whether they agree with my decisions or not.

I know I have people to rely on, and people who can rely on me.

And I also know that my loves for them can never be altered in any way, shape or form.

For me…That’s what Families are for.

Love.