LtS, you wrote: Outcome - screwed in every way possible. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

That's infatuation, I think, and not love. With love, the benefits clearly outweigh the skrewy-ness, and as the love matures, the goofiness level goes down, too.

Genie, you wrote: But falling does not have to be completely passive, much less unintentional. The skydiver is not a "victim," for example

That's not "Falling". That's "Jumping" (jumping from very, very high up, to be sure, but still jumping) -- or rather, "Diving" -- different verb altogether. "Diving in love" is an interesting idea, though...

Besides, as I understand it, skydivers steer themselves way down, don't they, by shifting their weight, and such? That's almost "Walking your way down"

And I seriously thought about writing about falling in love with falling asleep (a gradual transition from one state of being to another), but decided this route would give me more "compare and contrast" space to talk about what I believe love really is like.

CarolC -- Glad you liked it!

This is actually a rougher draft than the one I read on Saturday... I shortened the final version by about 100 words.