I think it’s real easy to answer a question like this with “love”. But there’s a Don Henley song from the 90s that says “sometimes love just ain’t enough”. I don’t know if that’s true but I have been told that in at least one relationship I was in.
I’m reluctant to use this particular word, but I think the greatest gift you can give someone is loyalty.  I don’t mean blind loyalty in the sense that former US President Donald Trump described it. What he looks for in his “people” is devotion. He wants people who will take a bullet for him, either figuratively or literally not unlike a crime boss.
Whether its a friend, or a romantic partner, I look for the kind of loyalty where somebody “has my back”. They’re with me, but at the the same time, they are willing to tell me when I’m wrong or just being stupid. It’s probably corny to say this, but I think of something like the loyalty you see in the Marvel movies between Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. 
One of the best friends I’ve ever had was a guy i refer to as The Redneck. He and I stopped talking for several years after a falling out; but began mending fences recently. We were very close through college and our early twenties. He was the kind of guy who, no matter what kind of trouble I stumbled into, he was there. There were a lot of things he and I didn’t see eye-to-eye on, but I couldn’t help not only respect, but admire that kind of loyalty. Since he was that loyalty to me, I absolutely reciprocated it to him. When we were younger, he would open hold mouth and say some stupid shit to the wrong people. I would step in to do some damage control. More often than not, it was too little too late. Even still, I felt obligated to back him up because he would, and has, done the same for me. Next to dogs, I cannot think of any other time I’ve ever felt that sense of loyalty in my life. It is nearly impossible to find in this world.
As I was thinking out my response to this prompt earlier, I began thinking about Jessica.  I broke up with her over a year ago, because of an incident where she didn’t show me that kind of loyalty. No, it wasn’t about getting into a fight at a bar or a concert or anything. We were in a situation where she bailed on me because it was an inconvenience to her. People told her she overreacted to the situation. Sometimes I think i overreacted by breaking up with her. But I didn’t do it immediately. I actually took 2 or 3 days to think about it before i did. During that time I remember wondering to myself if her and i were ever in a situation that was actually bad, would she leave me out to dry and save herself? That the question ever entered my mind; that I even had any doubt was enough for me to realized that that relationship had to end.
Maybe I expect too much from people. At another point in my life, I probably would have let it roll off me. But I’ve made too many compromises over the year for people who weren’t worth it.
I need a dog.
Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier related posts:
- Thoughts that keep me up at night
- Requiem for a mall
- what makes a great teacher
- The O.R. Virgin
- A Day in the Life of Rob
The article “:Greater than Love” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.
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