A New Color of Love

I just finished reading Ally Condie's latest novel Crossed which is the second book in her Matched Trilogy. I don't remember much about the first book since I read it so long ago but this one was such a pleasure. Much of it takes place in slot canyons which, as you may know, are some of my favorite places to play. And the way she describes the scenery of the canyons took me away to some of my favorite hideaways, like Zion and Arches, the Fiery Furnace and Bryce. But the book is also full of descriptions of love that I found beautiful and poetic. I wanted to quote my favorite so I would remember it...

Ky

"When I was small my mother tried to teach me the colors. "Blue," she said, pointing to the sky. And "blue" again, the second time pointing to teh water. She told me I shook my head because I could see that sky blue was not always the same as water blue.

It took me a long time-until I live in Oria-to use the same word for all the shades of a color.

I remember this as we walk through the canyon. The Carving is orange and red, but you'd never see this kind of orange and red back in the Society.

Love has different shades. Like the way I love Cassia when I thought she'd never love me. The way I loved her on the Hill. The way I love her now that she came into the canyon for me. It's different. Deeper. I thought I loved her and wanted her before, but as we walk through the canyon together I realize this could be more than a new shade. A whole new color."

I often think about how my love for Ryan has changed throughout the years. It's amazing that you could ever love someone more than just a few years ago or even a few weeks ago. And yet life, and challenges, and experiences change us, add layers to us, shades us. This passage struck home to me because it was such a perfect way to describe how I feel.