Just As You Are

I would not call myself a sentimental person. I'm fairly level-headed, rarely get swept away by emotion, cry only rarely. And yet, I will freely admit that I enjoy a good romantic comedy occasionally. I like a happily-ever-after ending and in a rom-com, that ending is guaranteed. Despite the ridiculous circumstances that throw the main characters together, the mindless fun of it is great after a long day of intellectualizing. Despite my enjoyment of this movie genre, I am completely aware that while rom-com's are happily-ever-after, real life is not. Life and love require work, dedication, and sacrifice.
One line from an old rom-com catches my heart, however. In Bridget Jones' Diary, Colin Firth says something that I have been really longing to hear over the past two years and that is,

"I like you very much. Just as you are." I don't think the line meant a whole lot to me when I watched the movie for the first time, but I've come to really long for that acceptance. The crux of my marriage is that my husband does not like me just as I am. He likes a couple things about me and has been working really hard to change most of the other things that make me who I am - my looks, my housekeeping, my intelligence, my parenting, among other things all are inadequate for him. He says he loves me, but it's hard to believe that when he really doesn't like much about me. That said, I hope you all out there tell your partners how much you not only love them, but really Like them. Just as they are.