If You Like/Love Someone….

About two weeks ago, my daughter, a 5th grader, came home very upset about what one of her BFFs said to her in school. She said her friend wanted her (my daughter) to give her " some space", that she feels my daughter clings to her too much. So, I told my daughter not to take it too personally, that sometimes our friends do need their personal space and we need to respect our friends' wishes......At least she got to learn this important "life lesson" early, I told myself.

That conversation I had with my daughter brought this popular quote by Richard Bach to mind: " If you really love someone, let them go, if they are yours, they will come back". When I was much younger and naive, I did believe that quote. One of my main reference is the story of " The prodigal son", although, it can be argued that it is different from a boy-girl relationship.  
To me, this quote speaks about mutual love- reciprocate love. But oftentimes, in reality, it is not so, the scales are not usually balanced in a relationship. We sometimes expect too much from the people we love and care about. Like someone wrote and I quote " Love isn’t owned and cannot be taken. It can only be given.  If you love someone, you have to give them the freedom to choose for themselves".

However, as I grow older (I still cannot claim expertise in this department, though) my opinion about the quote is a little different. You see, when you love or like someone and you let them go, with or without their consent, your relationship with that person may not be the same again, and you are left with memories and questions- "what-shoulda-coulda?". 
When we love someone — whether it’s a spouse, family member or best friend — we always want them near us in order to cherish and be cherished.  -Quote from bet.com.