“And what's romance? Usually, a nice little tale where you have everything as you like it, where rain never wets your jacket and gnats never bite your nose and it's always daisy-time.”
-- D. H. Lawrence
Now that Valentine’s Day has come and gone, it seems to be a good time to talk about REAL romance. As we are bombarded annually with images of red roses, pink hearts, boxes of chocolate and sparkling jewelry, it becomes too easy to believe that a person in a relationship should expect these overly commercial expressions of affection. They are absolutely not necessary and do nothing to strengthen bonds of intimacy (however it is nice to know that someone went out of their way to do something nice for you, any time of year).
"Romance is the glamour which turns the dust of everyday life into a golden haze."
-- Elinor Glyn
Some romantic gestures may be glamorous, but the gestures I find romantic are not glamorous at all.
"Romance is about the little things."
-- Gregory J. Godeck
The news hit on Friday that our area was expecting a snow storm on Sunday. Rob and I were talking on the phone. He needed to be available to help his Mom if the weather was nasty. That’s nice of him. But that’s not the romantic gesture.
Rob mentioned that if we really did get some snow that he would come over to my house on Monday (today) to clear the sidewalks and driveway. Now THAT is romantic!
I have an extra long sidewalk in front of the house which is the width of two lots. The driveway is also very long and needs to be clear from snow and ice so that my students can safely come and go.
Years ago, shoveling snow was not such a big deal other than the shear square footage involved. But for Rob to think ahead and know that this would be something I would appreciate is awesome. Very romantic.
"Love is not just caring deeply, it's, above all, understanding."
-- Francoise Sagan
So the question this week is: Has MS changed your idea of what is romantic?
By the way, the snow was a no-show in the DC area.
Lisa Emrich is author of the blog Brass and Ivory: Life with MS and RA and founder of the Carnival of MS Bloggers.
