Latest news with #TinyLoveStories
New York Times
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Tiny Love Stories: ‘Why Don't You Have a Girlfriend?'
A Fateful Crosswalk 'Why don't you have a girlfriend?' my younger brother asks. 'Everyone thinks you're gay.' Panic consumes 14-year-old me. I pray and hear: 'Find a girlfriend.' I date the most popular girl in high school until I graduate in 1983. The homophobia of that time leaves a deep scar, and I spend my life healing it. Dozens of ill-fated relationships with guys ensue. After I give up on love at 45, I pass a man in a crosswalk who asks, 'Leaving so soon?' I reply: 'What do you want to know? I'm single.' We've been together 14 years. Hope springs eternal. — Michael Hauser In the Wake of Him, Her My 37-year-old brother married Priscilla three weeks before a bicycle accident took his life. They had been together for a while, but, because of the pandemic, I didn't know her well. In the wake of his death, we worked side by side, making impossible decisions and caring for what was left in his absence. We cry a lot. We also laugh. She could have been a stranger I never met. Instead, she became my sister, my brother's last gift to me. Grief gave us a terrible beginning. Love makes it last. — Stephanie Springer Simmering After 37 Years He orders a new TV remote, unclogs the toilet, pays our daughter's car insurance. Not the passion of staying in bed all day in our 20s. Nor the excitement of buying our first house. Or riding gondolas in Venice. It's more like a hearty, slow-cooked meal. He shares our daughter's Instagram post. We plan her college graduation party. Relish her professor's help getting her a job. Love after 37 years. It does not boil over. Rather, it's steady as it simmers. — Kerry Leonard Paone Wrong to Scoff My boyfriend is happiest in the kitchen. A former chef, he moves with confidence and precision — whisking and chopping, tasting and sautéing, all while cursing under his breath at microscopic 'mistakes' made along the way, errors a cereal-minded woman like me would never notice. We recently made potato gnocchi together. As always, he sent me home with a doggie bag. I scoffed at his detailed cooking instructions. This man really thinks I can't boil water? I ignored his warnings and ended up with mashed potatoes. Like the gnocchi, his instructions were made with consideration and care. Sorry, honey! — Sophie Bramnick See more Tiny Love Stories at Submit yours at Want more from Modern Love? Watch the TV series; sign up for the newsletter; or listen to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play. We also have swag at the NYT Store and two books, 'Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption' and 'Tiny Love Stories: True Tales of Love in 100 Words or Less.'
New York Times
30-04-2025
- General
- New York Times
How Has Marriage Equality Changed Your Life?
This June will mark a decade since the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges established same-sex marriage as a national right. We're looking for personal stories about how this important decision rippled through the country, both in states where same-sex marriage was already legal and in those 13 states where the decision ended bans on same-sex marriage. Please tell us, in 200 words or fewer, how this decision impacted your life. What did the change mean to you, emotionally and in practical terms? How do you feel about it now? Perhaps you were able to marry a longtime partner, start a family, or celebrate the love of friends or relatives as they legalized their unions. Or maybe you felt pressured to marry for the first time. What surprised you about your feelings and actions at the time or in the years since? We hope to publish a collection of the most interesting and moving accounts we receive. We won't publish any part of your response without following up with you first, verifying your information and hearing back from you. And we won't share your contact information outside the Times newsroom or use it for any reason other than to get in touch with you. The deadline for submissions is Monday, May 12 at 11:59 p.m. P.S.T. Modern Love can be reached at modernlove@ To find previous Modern Love essays, Tiny Love Stories and podcast episodes, visit our archive. Want more Modern Love? Watch the TV series, sign up for the newsletter and listen to the podcast on iTunes or Spotify. We also have two books, 'Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption' and 'Tiny Love Stories: True Tales of Love in 100 Words or Less.'
New York Times
23-04-2025
- General
- New York Times
Tiny Love Stories: ‘The Secret About People'
Anxious Affection My mother's love language was worry. An anxious woman, she believed panic was a form of protection. 'It's what you don't see coming that gets you,' she said, searching out the unlikeliest dangers. If a plane crashed 10 states away, she'd scan her mental Rolodex: Which cousin might have been going to Ohio or Nevada? Years of therapy later, I have learned to keep worry at bay (somewhat). I remind myself that worry as a means of security is magical thinking. And that you can love someone without staring sleeplessly at shadows at 4 a.m. It works (sometimes). — Jilann Picariello Committed Comedians Steve and I met at a club in Los Angeles, both comedians chasing fame. I was 23, fresh from Canada. When my visa expired, I asked Steve to marry me. We were both gay, so it was a perfect union. We spent years together traveling the road, navigating one-night stands and sharing our truths. In 2001, Steve contracted AIDS and moved home to Virginia. I visited him often. Watching him deteriorate was unbearable. He passed away in the spring of 2014. To some, it was just a green-card marriage. To us, it was a faithful, lifelong friendship. — Lois Bromfield Cycle of Care When my father was a college student and moved from Karachi to California, his father wrote him letter after letter that could be collected only at the post office. When my father told his father that his shoes were getting worn out by walking to and from the post office, his father promptly airmailed him a package. Inside the box: new shoes. Luckily, I'm a 45-minute drive away from my father, not a daylong flight. Yet, the cycle of care packages continues. For me, he will deliver steaming soup, my favorite books and box upon box of sweet mango juice. — Reem Faruqi Guilty as the Ghost The first time he ghosts you, you are 16, your sincere messages left unanswered on a flip phone. The second time he ghosts you, you are 18, waiting three hours by Newcastle, England's towering monument until you realize he won't show. The third and final time he ghosts you, you are almost 30, incredulous that he has changed so little and mad that you — apparently — haven't grown out of this pattern either. Here's the secret about people who fall for serial ghosters: You are just as guilty as they are, believing their false apologies to be true. — Francesca Willow See more Tiny Love Stories at Submit yours at Want more from Modern Love? Watch the TV series; sign up for the newsletter; or listen to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play. We also have swag at the NYT Store and two books, 'Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption' and 'Tiny Love Stories: True Tales of Love in 100 Words or Less.'
New York Times
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Tiny Love Stories: ‘Young, Headstrong and Wrong'
Lucky Lost Luggage We were dating long-distance because of me. I had decided that New York City's bodegas couldn't possibly provide what I needed to sustain a complete life, so I left, and Sam stayed. I was young, headstrong and wrong. After a year apart, we flew to Arizona for some meaningful time together. Sam's bag didn't make it. In the hotel, each morning began with a low-pressure shower and a high-stakes negotiation: Who would wear my jeans today? Who would get the blue windbreaker I packed? Our solid marriage, full of compromises, owes much to that lost luggage 25 years ago. — Jamie Beth Cohen Waiting for My Mother's Hymn The walls in our house couldn't muffle my parents' fights. My father had a temper, and I doubt my mother ever won. At the end of each argument, she would resume her chores while quietly singing the same hymn. I'd wait for her to start singing: my own reassuring ritual that all was well. Years later, I overheard my mother tell a friend that she sang that hymn whenever she was at her lowest. She passed away last year. I never got to tell her that during her saddest times, as she sang to console herself, she gave me comfort too. — Christine Oh Platonic Appreciation Sasha (who uses they/them pronouns) enthralled me at open mic night when they tore off their bomber jacket and threw it to me in the audience. We nearly dated in boarding school, but I nervously canceled our ice cream plans. Naturally, they wrote me hate poems in their notes app. We still became friends. Three years later, we kiss by the subway entrance, a nonromantic, goodbye peck. The boorish men catcalling us do not understand our act of platonic appreciation. No matter. Giving them the finger, I descend the stairs and board the 4 train to Manhattan. — Marisa Bringewatt All of You I never knew I would miss gastronomy tubes. I never knew I would miss syringes. I never knew I would miss gauze. Needles. Round-the-clock medications. Blood work. Endless hospital stays. Doctor appointments. Seizures. Electrocardiograms. Nearly four years of fight or flight. I knew I'd miss your melodic giggle. Your juicy cheeks. Your flawless baby skin. Your mischievous spirit. The unwavering presence in your eyes and the forgiveness offered in your smile. I always knew I'd miss you. I now know that includes every piece of you. — Lindzi Scharf See more Tiny Love Stories at Submit yours at Want more from Modern Love? Watch the TV series; sign up for the newsletter; or listen to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play. We also have swag at the NYT Store and two books, 'Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption' and 'Tiny Love Stories: True Tales of Love in 100 Words or Less.'
New York Times
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Tiny Love Stories: ‘Breathing Felt Like Betrayal'
Sinew and Silence After my son died, I forgot how to be human. Breathing felt like betrayal. Food, impossible. The floor was the only place that made sense. Then Lindy arrived: retired racer, all sinew and silence, a greyhound built to fly. He couldn't fix me. But he was fully present in my grief, a sentinel to my stillness. Lindy wasn't a therapy dog, but a witness. Nudging me with his snout, acknowledging my pain with a wordless knowing. He let me break. He made me breathe. — Mark E. Paull An Expanded Family One morning, while I was making rounds as a medical resident, a handsome nurse asked me out. Shayne was a gift of warmth and comfort when life was cold and punishing. He took me bowling; a few months later, I was pregnant. We would have two other children, get married, move to Ohio, Florida and back to Vermont before I found the courage to tell him I'm a lesbian. I have a girlfriend now. Shayne does too. We're family and next-door neighbors. Our tweens groan that we're 'so weird,' but agree that no one has more love than we do. — Britt Olmsted Filling the Blanks In the past 15 years, I've lived in 12 homes. Each spot has had bare walls. I buy art but don't hang it. What's the point when living alone? But last year, I met you at a dinner party. For some time now, you've been coming over to my apartment, and I to yours. I drive the highway between us and think: This is starting to feel like home. I look at my art and start mapping it onto the walls. Next time you come, could you help me put some up? Home, I believe, is a two-person job. — Florianne Jimenez Poetry in the Park My toddler, Hugo, believes in a world where toast feels disappointment, socks miss each other in the wash and the moon follows us home out of loyalty. He creates whimsical stories about puddles filling his boots, the wind lifting his hair. I used to think I was good with words, but his are better. More imaginative, joyful, less afraid. He makes poetry out of breakfast, errands, the walk in our local London park. I used to want to teach him everything, but now I just want to listen. — Naomi Couper See more Tiny Love Stories at Submit yours at Want more from Modern Love? Watch the TV series; sign up for the newsletter; or listen to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play. We also have swag at the NYT Store and two books, 'Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption' and 'Tiny Love Stories: True Tales of Love in 100 Words or Less.'
