Great minds think a box.

Metaphorically speaking, every man has a shoebox.

The shoebox, it turns out, contains high school photos with “little more then friends” doodles on the back and somewhat types of love letters passed to each other during class. And pages upon pages of lined paper filled with his name, and hers enclosed by a heart, and a little “We’ll always be together”, message. All based around a woman he lost some six years ago and isn't quite over, though he claims he is.

Do not hate him for the shoebox. He keeps it until you show yourself better than her. Which, so long as you don't plan to pull out his heart with pliers, you already are. He'll figure this out. Eventually.

Promised.

Truth is, he'd rather spend hours talking to you, and hours upon hours trying to make you happy. He'd rather be in love; he’d rather spend one day with you then a lifetime without you. He'd rather let the shoebox go. But he's not sure he can.

The shoebox is about something long gone, but it's hard to let that nonsense go. Especially when he’ll reread phrases like "I'll always love you; I know you think this will all be over one day, but I promise it won't". But you have to understand that it’s done and over with and he won’t go back to her. He’s with you now. He’ll let the shoebox go, but give him time. Don't hate him. He'll get there.

He wants to be in love again, and he is, with you. Honestly. But it's so hard to trust it. It’s so hard to trust that you won’t hurt him again like he’s been hurt. And it isn’t you he needs to trust, he does trust you, it’s himself he needs to trust. Trust that he can let you love him without foreseeing a cause of pain that you don’t plan, in your worst nightmares, to do upon him. So, the next time he is acting weird around you, remember he has a shoebox somewhere. He'd love to start a new one with you, and burn the old one, but he needs a little encouragement.

Give it to him. He’s worth it. He’s worth so much, because to you, your love is priceless and the value of that could never be determined for it is far too precious. He deserves to be given the chance to see how wonderful you are. Because after all, he's the kind of guy who keeps a shoebox, and soon, you will need more then a shoebox to enclose the memories of your love.