Romantically challenged
Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 7:29PM My husband and I just returned from an overnight trip to San Juan Island (Washington state). It's the first time we've gone away alone together in . . . I honestly can't remember the last time! Even though it was a short trip, I am very thankful to have done it.
The one-hour ferry ride from Anacortes to Friday Harbor was relaxing, even if it did rain the entire first day. We tooled around the island, took photos, walked a couple of trails, found some good restaurants, and visited the whale museum and lovely Roche Harbor at the far end of the island.
Fortunately, the sun came out the second day several hours before our departure. We found our way to Lime Kiln Point (see photo), a spot known for being one of the best places in the world to view orca whales from land. Unfortunately, we didn't see the whales, but maybe we'll try again later this summer. I definitely want to go back!
Our little get-away got me to thinking about romance and how my idea of it has changed over the years (besides, I wanted to share the video at the end of this entry).
It frankly disheartens me to see the "romantic comedies" our culture churns out--to think that young girls are being fed the notion that it's romantic for a guy to propose marriage in bed after sex. How sad.
Real romance is so much better than that. It's a shame that screenwriters don't get it right more often. One recent movie that comes close is Family Man with Nicholas Cage.
One of my daughter's favorite movies is 1968's Yours, Mine, and Ours starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda playing real-life couple, Frank and Helen Beardsley. In a memorable scene, Frank ushers his wife out the door on the way to the hospital to deliver their baby--while his teenage daughter asks for advice in handling a rocky romance.
Frank admonishes, "Take a good look at your mother . . . Life isn't a love in, it's the dishes and the orthodontist and the shoe repairman and... ground round instead of roast beef. And I'll tell you something else: it isn't going to a bed with a man that proves you're in love with him; it's getting up in the morning and facing the drab, miserable, wonderful everyday world with him that counts."
Yeah, I know--cheesy as all get out. Give me a scene like that any day over Sex and the City.
Oh, sure . . . over the years, we've had the candlelight dinners, gift exchanges, flowers, slinky lingerie and candy. You want real romance? Here it is: the time I was deathly sick with a 104-degree temperature and my husband bathed me with cold towels and alcohol to bring down my fever. Or when he wrote a poem inside the C.S. Lewis book given to me for our anniversary. Every time he reaches over to hold my hand while we are riding in the car. When he brings tea to me in the morning.
The day he stayed 10 hours at the hospital while I received chemo, then came home and made ginger root tea to help settle my stomach. When he buzzed my head before my hair fell out from chemo treatments. After we learned we were expecting and he exuberantly yelled to the neighbor jogging past our house, "WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BABY!!!!" Any time he's told me--out of the blue--that I am beautiful.
Does it get any better than that? I think not.
Of course, life isn't romantic every day. In fact, after nearly 30 years of marriage, some would say that it's hardly ever romantic.
Then again, romance is in the eye of the beholder.
Hope you get a chuckle out of the "Romantically Challenged" video, below:
Reader Comments (2)
This was SO neat. I love all those anecdotes -- those kinds of moments are the best! And I agree -- my hubby and I have been married 20 years, and we consciously skip Valentine's Day hoopla because how in the world are you going to ramp up the romance that's there all the time?
(Love the skitguys, too. I hadn't seen them before.)
This was so right on, I loved it. I will definitely share this with my husband and family and friends. Thank you for sharing it with me