Being Rudolph Valentino

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, let me tell you a little bit about my wife. We all have to admit somehow, that being a modeler does not catapult us into immediate stardom. We do not embody the ultimate man, women dream of. We are not the chosen ones. Neither are we the gent that turns the female head when we pass by. Unless she does a double take to verify if she really witnessed, a middle-aged, slightly balding, overfed man stroll by with something that looked like a toy under his arm. Most of us, myself included, after several years sitting behind our workbench, eating candy and cookies, rather resemble someone who is in critical need of a Spa!

True, looks are not everything but the girls are entitled to have fantasies too. We can’t expect of them, dealing with a poor hallucination every day. Still they do it. Still they love us for the child that we from time to time pretend to be, when we need something and we’re too lazy to get it ourselves. Or when we attempt to make an argument stick and she has to look at her husband, who has a permanent indentation on his forehead from the Optivizor he has been wearing for 25 years, trying so hard not to laugh! Now that, is true love!

Sometimes I look in the mirror and imagine what my wife sees in me. A bald guy with a bunch of crowsfeet around his eyes, a salt and pepper beard to camouflage the chin he’s lacking and fuzz coming out of his ears. No muscles to speak of and a belly that is surely but steadily determining on its own, if it should push the belt buckle over or under the navel.

Still every day I get my kisses as if it was on the first date. Why? No clue! Why is it that the “I love you’s” flow out of her mouth like I’m the most exciting person in the world, while I’m the guy who, every year, thinks that her birthday is a day later!

It makes me realize that I do not have to be a Rudolph Valentino or any other good-looking celebrity to be the “one and only” in her life. It has nothing to do of how you see each other physically. It’s all about commitment, understanding, being there and yes, unconditional love, every day and especially when moments are dire. I hope somehow that I compensate my shortcomings by radiating exactly those affections when I’m around her. Hopefully that will keep doing the trick for me for years to come.

We’ll see!

BTW, do not attempt to wrap the shower curtain around your body when stepping out of the bath tub to resemble a Sheik. Trust me, I’ve tried. It doesn’t work!

I noticed that in the mirror too!


Jef V.
