Love is so misconstrued these days. We see so many different movie and social media portrayals of love, that we don't know which way is up and which way is down. As a society though, we know everything changes and shifts as time drags on. Each new generation brings on a new meaning to old ideas.

What if these generational shift has worsened a beautiful idea?

We have TV shows like "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" (guilty of indulging in both shows!) that portray love as a few fantasy dates to exotic places, and one or two "one-on-one" dates, but in the end, the love never sticks. We've seen it played out in the famous "Teen Mom" series, (Jenelle), the turn around in guys she's with is often quicker then the show can be aired.

Our culture is ridden with these examples of love, but this idea of love is not the same love shared in the past.

My mom and I often laugh now about my experiences with guys, and we compare what it was like back when she met my dad almost 30 years ago. Back when my mom met my dad, dating wasn't much of a thing because you couldn't text someone and ask them to come over, you had to call them, walk to them, write a letter, catch them at school - there was incredible effort put into these relationships. My mom admits that she never dated much before she met my dad, and that was the norm. She had loved only him in her life.

She only knew him. She only put her trust into him. It wasn't a random guy, a two week long relationship. They worked hard to be together.

And I think that's the difference.

Back in the 70s and 80s (and prior), our parents couldn't grab their cell phone and text their hook up to come over. They had to say it over the only phone in the house while their mother was there. It was hard back then, it was planned. Relationships were built upon over time, they were steady, they were held together by trust.

I'm not saying 'love' today is nothing, it's just not the love our parents had. It's not the love they worked for, but it's the love we should strain for now. I commend the relationships in today's society that waited, trusted, and love whole-heartedly. The couples who have worked hard and will always fight for each other because too often our 'love' ends in divorce and broken homes (sometimes for the better).

We aren't growing up in the same times that our parents did. Our words and actions are often different than they were before. We live in a world that forces us to work harder than we ever have before to create a love that lasts.

But I'd rather work hard for an 'I love you' with the same meaning my mom has when she says it to my dad, than for anything else in the world.