August is National Romance Awareness Month.
As a young girl with a head full of dreams and an old steamer trunk full of hopes, I had visions of romance as something that would make a Disney princess proud.
Then I met and married Captain Cavedweller. He’s taught me a lot of true romance.
Romance isn’t just about romantic gestures, although candlelight dinners and bouquets of flowers are awesome and always appreciated( Hello, CC! Just a little hint for you!).
Romance is so much more than that. It’s about being attentive, thoughtful, kind, willing, creative, kind, forgiving, considerate, and kind.
Even the smallest gesture can mean so much to your loved one. Like holding hands on the way across a parking lot, or taking a task off someone’s to-do list.
I read an article a few months ago that stuck with me. It was about a couple, and the wife was a stay at home mom while the husband had a demanding job. When he’d come home, she’d complain about the kids and her day. As her husband grew more distant, she finally realized she wouldn’t want to come home from a long day at work and listen to her either. So she made a choice to greet him each evening the way she’d want to be greeted — with a smile and a kiss, and thougthful attentiveness. It wasn’t long before they were once again close and their romance was flourishing.
Romance is being in for the long haul. It’s knowing your partner is there with unwavering, enduring love, as well as affection, and passion. It’s knowing the intensity of their feelings is lasting, not just someone who is flirting and moving on. It’s being able to talk about memories, shared experiences, reminders of what made you fall in love, dreams for the future, how much you appreciate them, and why you still love them.
The main thing here is to be together and to be fully, wholly present with your partner.
To celebrate Romance Awareness Month, I’m giving one lucky winner a copy of Fifty Dates with Captain Cavedweller.
To enter, just post a comment sharing one great love story you admire (can be yours, someone you know, or a fictional romance!)
