Kissing Frogs

We all know the tale about the princess who had to kiss a frog in order to turn him in to a prince. This one story has spurned a thousand other stories about being patient in love, and understanding the bumpy roads we face as we journey towards true love. While in the movie, the princess was lucky to kiss just one frog and have him turn into her prince charming, in real life, we have to kiss many frogs, or kiss the same frog many times, before he turns into a prince.

Sometimes, we are in such a hurry to meet the ‘one’, we fail to appreciate the other frogs we meet on the way and how they mature us, for our eventual prince. So this article is dedicated to the ladies who have kissed their own fair share of frogs, and the frogs who have received those kisses.

The First Frog:

The first frog is the first guy we ever date. If he was around our age, or you dated in secondary school or during your teenage years, he can usually be termed “the innocent frog” or the “I learnt all about love from the movies” frog. He sent little notes through his sister and you spent ages talking on the phone about nothing in particular. He is the frog that gives some sort of hope, teaches you a little about romance and in some cases, sets your whole world alight! When you look back on this frog, you can’t help but smile at the naiveté of it all. But you recognize the role he played in shaping you.

The Insignificant Frog:

This is the frog that you may not even remember dating, or the one you can’t believe you ever dated. He was the clingy frog; the one that called too much, wrote too many poems and bought way too many lunches for you and your friends. You and your friends may also have various mean and funny names which you used to describe this frog. This is not normally the frog that you fall in love with, but he teaches you how you deserve to be treated and as a result, you hold future frogs to this higher standard.

The Hopeless Frog:

In this case, it is not the frog that is hopeless but the situation surrounding your relationship with the frog that is. In my case, my hopeless frog was 4 inches shorter than me, of a different religion but similar genotype-AS, had a son and was soon to be relocating to a different country. It was like someone took my list and turned it on its head. As hopeless as this situation sounds, there is always some type of unexplainable attachment to this frog and the hopelessness the situation brings. Whether this attachment is love, confusion or desperation depends on the people involved but in most cases it is this very hopelessness that will send you running to the hills. For those who manage to persevere, theirs will be a story of patience and enduring love told and retold by friends and loved ones.

The Charismatic Frog:

When winter rolls around, so does the flu. I’m a fan of Night Nurse; it helps soothe the terrible cough and eases the blocked nose. It comes with warning labels, “do no operate heavy machinery” or something similar. It is my belief that this frog should come with warning labels; “will impair your judgment.” This frog is a fountain of charisma. His larger than life persona is an inferno which engulfs any woman within a 50 mile radius.
With this frog, it is usually style over substance. However, there are many charismatic frogs with promise. But promise or not, you will forgive this frog for many a transgression, usually the same one.

The “Best Friend” Frog:

People say that if you marry your best friend, you are lucky. With this frog you can be you, because he KNOWS you, you can fast forward straight to comfortable. Being with him is easy; it feels like you have been together forever. All of a sudden forever doesn’t seem enough. He teaches you to be yourself in relationships. The fact that he knows you so well may remove any mystery from your relationship but with him the positives far outweigh the negatives.

There are more frogs than the ones I’ve mentioned above, the list of possible frogs is endless. I am sure we all have more than our own fair share of frog kissing stories, so if you think I’ve missed any frogs out, please share them with us.

Regardless of the amount of frogs we’ve kissed, the trick here is to remember that in life, the fairy tale ending you desire is what you make of it. This is because meeting the right frog is just the beginning, but one day, after much hard work and several kisses later, you will look at your frog and see the faint silhouette of a crown, sitting crookedly on his head.

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