I Believe in Love

by Renata Crespo

I believe in the power of love. Not the kind of saint's love or romantic love, but human love with all its imperfections--love as a kind of benign disease that becomes a way of living or a way to deal with life.

I was born in a family nourished by a very passionate couple. As far as I can remember, I could see that their love was the most important asset in our family. It was the basis of our happiness and would be the basis of our self-confidence--mine, my two brothers' and my sister's. My origin and these first memories of love as a mix of harmony, passion and adventure are the strength that have sustained me all my life. I have passed through many difficult situations and love has always been my most important tool.

When I was thirty-two years old, I separated from my first husband when our sons were two and three. I raised them practically alone because I lived more than 3000 km away from my parents or their father. I had to work all the time while I was also writing my PhD thesis. After that, I got married again and I helped my second husband to raise his daughter. We all lived together for 5 years, and it was a very rich experience for all of us. This girl is now a woman and a good friend of mine. We meet at least once a month to have lunch and enjoy a chat.

As I had a very strong example of marital love from my parents, it was hard to accept a shallow love story as my destiny. Whenever my relationships became disturbing, and being alone seemed to be better than being together, I always chose to be alone and to give both of us a chance to live better. In fact, I was alone again when I met my true love. We have been in love since our first date. It started out crazy and fast. Two months after we first met, we were traveling with 6 kids on a 6000-km trip. Foolishness? Craziness? Yes, it was and it still is. We have created a family that seems more like an NGO (Non-Governamental Organization) with 6 kids (4 boys and 2 girls) stemming from 3 fathers and 4 mothers. Of course, it was not easy, but I believe that the power of our love was able to let us overcome all difficulties to the point that now we can say that we are a real family.

All of our kids are developing well and succeeding in their studies and lives. Each one in his own way. Our crazy love could create among us an environment of friendship and respect for each other's differences. And we are very confident that this will be the strongest heritage for them for their whole lives.