What a Red Toothbrush Taught Me About My Misconceptions of Love
How to distinguish between loving someone and being in love with the idea of someone
In the end, he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. And just like that, I was ghosted — yet another example of dating disasters to add to my list. Puzzling over what had happened, I noticed the last thing he had left in my life: a red toothbrush.
I don’t know why he left without an explanation. Maybe he was overwhelmed by his feelings or lack thereof and didn’t want to talk to me about it; maybe he simply couldn’t handle being with someone. Whatever his reason, he left me with 15 unanswered text messages, a red toothbrush, and no answers to the many questions in my head.
What a toothbrush taught me about love
In hindsight, I am glad for this unfortunate episode. With a red toothbrush from a guy who had vanished from my life glaring at me in my bathroom, I had no choice but to confront some ugly truths. It taught me the painful lesson that not everything that starts out perfect stays perfect or was ever perfect to begin with.
Basically, this red toothbrush was a reminder — it was like a love coach of sorts. It forced me to look at my dating behavior. While analyzing…
