Definition of Romance

It has been an interesting journey over the past few years in trying to learn about a new partner.  One particular aspect is the concept of romance.  In a recent conversation I enquired about whether the view was held that I was a romantic individual.  The answer did catch me a little by surprise.

Whilst in the moment I had a very furrowed brow, it did get me thinking about it all.  A few months back I headed out shopping to replace a few doona covers.  Now if romance is not my thing, then you can absolutely bet that shopping is most definately not my thing.  Actually my general approach is to wear it or use it until it is dead.  I don't like a lot of stuff, so I don't often have things that I no longer require.

Doona covers can last decades :-).  Despite the good natured ribbing, I decided to find a mix of our two styles.  I thought this would be a romantic gesture.....bombed big time!  Fast forward back to now and it appears that sending surprise chocolates or flowers doesn't make the grade, nor dinners out, a weekend away (we do often have at least one child present), or even live sporting or concert tickets.  After a week or so of thinking I came up with this one.....

Turns out the best way to win the heart is through the culinary taste buds, as long as they are sweet!  A miniature lemon merranguie pie was a hit.  So I will tack this on to my melting moments recipe collection for future use.  I am not sure it qualifies for romance, but I think I would gain agreement that it was a sweet gesture.  

I also had a moment of standing near and I gave a quick shoulder massage.  There was delight and surprise, apparently I had not ever done that before.  Well AS is not really conducive to providing strength in my hands, perhaps that's why I haven't.  But it was a mental note to self, and I will continue to be on the look out for what may rate on the partners radar as romantic.  It certainly was in insightful moment and one that provided an opportunity to pause and consider and alternative line of thinking.  

It also made me take greater notice of a prior conversation regarding date nights and weekends away.  The biggest hurdle here is my child resides at home 24 x 7 and I have limited babysitting options available.  But she is older now, perhaps exploring a new regular and dependable babysitting option will be easer to source and not as nerve wracking in concept for me.  I also managed to find some inspiration on the Zen Habits blog http://zenhabits.net/ways-to-be-romantic-on-the-cheap/, so I will give some of the a whirl and see how they pan out.  Sorry,  I can't keep you posted on the progress ;-)

Any tips you wish to share, feel free to email me or throw up a comment!