Mark Twain on Where Babies Come From

True intimacy has its nasty side. You end up living with an entire person’s lint, crud, toenail clippings, rhinovirus colonies, dirty socks, hairs on the bar of soap, and even (gasp) dirty dishes left in the sink to fester. Exposure to the unairbrushed, unfiltered, the vile and the slimy: that’s true love.

Intimacy is letting someone else see you without makeup. Without pretense. It’s letting someone into your private moments and into your personal space. The phrase ‘warts and all’ springs to mind. But there’s a certain magic in all of that lint and dandruff and morning breath. When you honestly love someone, even their belly button lint can be beautiful.

How sick is that? Wonderfully sick.

(c) Jessica Hagy, 2012