The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife

by Anna Johnston

“Well, I guess you can’t always rely on feeling in love. That comes and goes. It’s a decision, too, you know. You have to look after it. The more you can make the other person feel loved, fill their tank as it were, the more they have in their reserve to make you feel loved. It’s a cycle. I used to try and plan little surprises when I could if ever things were getting stale.”

“Enjoy every moment—life is not a dress rehearsal.”

Grateful for whatever you have, whether it’s a new car or a new packet of chips.”

“And having someone to share it all with, of course—someone to love, and be loved by. You’ll be richer than a millionaire if you can find that.”

For so many years he’d taken for granted the significance of being known by another person, until it was all snatched away and he was suddenly a stranger to everyone he met.

Love is . . . about picking someone up and never, ever putting them down again, no matter how heavy things become.”

But it will be an even stronger love, strengthened by the daily exercise of choosing each other. Not just a love that loves when things are easy, when you’re feeling happy. No, it will be an unbreakable love that continues loving when things are hard. One that loves through bad times, through loss, in health, and in sickness.”