The musical ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ is one of my all time
favourite movies. I’ve watched it over ten times and cried every time. No doubt
there’ll be more tears the next time I watch it. All the drama surrounding Tevye
and his family, particularly with his three strong-willed daughters who wished
to marry for love, always manages to tug at my heart strings.
There's a lovely moment in the movie when a touching conversation takes place between
Tevye and his wife Golde.
“Do you love me?” Tevye asks his wife.
“Do I what?” Golde responds
Tevye: Do you love me?
Golde: Do I love you? With our daughters getting married and
this trouble in the town, you're upset, you're worn out; go inside, go lie
down! Maybe it's indigestion…
Tevye: Golde I'm asking you a question...Do you love me?
Golde: You're a fool
Tevye: I know….But do you love me?
Golde: Do I love you? For twenty-five years I've washed your
clothes, cooked your meals, cleaned your house, given you children, milked the
cow; after twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?
Tevye: Golde, The first time I met you was on our wedding
day; I was scared
Golde: I was shy
Tevye: I was nervous
Golde: So was I
Tevye: But my father and my mother said we'd learn to love
each other. And now I'm asking, Golde….do you love me?
Golde: I'm your wife
Tevye: I know...but do you love me?
Golde: Do I love him? For twenty-five years I've lived with
him, fought him, starved with him. Twenty-five years my bed is his….if that's
not love, what is?
Tevye: Then you love me?
Golde: I suppose I do
Tevye: And I suppose I love you too
Then they both sing together, "It doesn't change a thing. But even so, after
twenty-five years, it's nice to know."
Yes, it is nice to know.
All too often we take the people we care about for granted. It
may be your spouse, parents, children, good friends or even colleagues at work……the
closer they are and the more they mean to you, the more invisible they become. We
allow familiarity to blind us to the incredible value and meaning they bring to
our life and we forget to let them know that we love and appreciate them….or
simply assume that they know.
Maybe, as Tevye and Golde sang, saying it doesn’t change
anything and you can feel the love even if left unspoken………but still, it is
nice to know.