WATCHING CELTIC THUNDER AS A WOMAN

(As printed in the Take Me Home tour program)

Over cooking dinner tonight, I was pondering the Celtic Thunder show.  As happens, one thought led to another, and I was brought to turning the characters of the guys over in my head… thinking about why they affect us, or at least me, in the way they do. I began to see our dating lives played out in these men, or at least my own interpretations. Your mileage may vary.

Damian is that first young love… sweet and gentle. He captures for me the remembered delight of silly passed notes that say “Do you like me? If yes, check this box,” having my hand held for the first time, that first chaste kiss, being walked home from school. He is that first time that you feel the utter delight of knowing a boy likes you, that there is something in YOU specifically that draws him in.

Keith… he’s your first REAL love. You’re past the teenager nonsense, ready to dive into adulthood. It’s exciting and he’s handsome and sexy. He’s that unique blend of passion and romance that is so special to that time in your life, when you really have no responsibilities and fancy yourself to be a grown-up. He’s the time when you are so wrapped up in each other in that whirlwind that everything else just fades away and you know only him.

Ryan, of course, is the Bad Boy. He’s the one you know you shouldn’t love, but are irresistibly drawn to. There is just something about the bad boy. You know you shouldn’t have anything to do with him, but he’s exciting and thrilling. You know he’s going to break your heart. But the ride is almost worth is, and there’s a chance… just the smidge of a chance that YOU might be the woman who rocks his world and stays his wandering eye. That chance is worth every desperate risk you take.

Paul.. ah Paul. Paul makes me melty. Paul is your true love. Watch him and you can see yourself falling in love with him right then and there. He loves you. He wants to take care of you. He wants to shelter you, protect you. He wants to be your knight in shining armor. He’s the man who treats you like a beautiful princess, who puts you on a pedestal, and makes you think that there is no one in the world that is more important to him than you are. This is the man you marry, or you live to regret it.

George is the man you hope Paul matures into. He is the man you’ve grown through the years with, the man you’ve had children with. He is the man who has endured hardships with you. He is the man you’ve loved, the man you’ve fought with and for. He is the man whose strengths and weaknesses you know like the back of your hand, and yet you would still fight to the death to keep him. He’s the man whose shown you the best and worst sides of himself… and yet he is everything you’ve ever wanted. Still. He’s the man you want to be with as long as there is breath yet in your body.