Monday's Musings: A Touch of Romance

Today is February 10, just four days away from Valentine's Day. And I know some of you are going to say, why write about Romance before Valentine's Day?

Simple: Romance is an act, a state of mind, a thought, a memory, a touch, a kiss, a gift, virtually most anything you want to make it. Valentine's Day isn't the only day or time of year where Romance can take place.

What is Romantic? I guess to a lot of women, it is the thought behind a special gift from a husband or boyfriend; it's being taken out to dinner to a very special, and usually, expensive restaurant...not just on Valentine's Day, but on a birthday or anniversary. My husband does that, we have a wonderful restaurant we love to go to, but it is very expensive and so he takes me there on "special occasions," like my birthday, our anniversary, and always on Valentine's Day.

To me, Romance comes in all sizes, shapes, and flavors! When I'm away from the house, shopping, taking my daughter-in-law to lunch, meeting with teachers to plan school visits, whatever, my husband calls me on my cell phone just to say hi, how are things going, and "I miss you." Now,  that's Romantic.

We've been married for 35 years, a second marriage for both of us, so we were not young kids when we got married. But from day one, every time my husband has introduced me to someone, he says, "This is my lovely wife, Mikki." That's  Romantic!

We built our lives together on a ranch out in the middle of nowhere, breeding, raising, and training Appaloosa horses for the show ring. The first few years were difficult, as I was still teaching at the university, and he was a manager in AeroSpace. He left for work at five o'clock in the morning, I fed and watered the horses, and had to get ready to leave for school by six am. It was rough, especially since we didn't normally get in from working with the horses until 9:30 or 10:00 at night. So on Saturday and Sunday mornings, he got up and fixed breakfast for us, and he never missed a weekend! That's Romantic.

I know some women who think it's Romantic for their husbands to clean their own bathrooms, and put the toliet seat down...I can go along with that! Yep, that's one expression of Romance!

When we retired, and moved to the Central Coast of California, I returned to my passion for writing. My husband made it a point to continue to fix breakfast for me, but he went further by also cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, and doing ALL the vacuuming and mopping of floors every single week. He always answered the phone so that I didn't have to stop what I was doing on the computer, and he made sure it was an important call before he disturbed me in the office.  He claimed he was just doing his "share," but the truth is, he was making sure I had all the time I needed or wanted to write. Romantic? Oh, yes!

I recently had my first book published in November of 2013. I had a small launch party, and my husband said he wanted to introduce me. Of course, I thought the introduction would be brief and to the point, but it wasn't. He gave practically my whole life story, and emphasized the fact that I wasn't "just" an author ( in no way was being an author a "just" to me!), but also an artist, a musician, and a great wife, mother, and grandmother. It was a complete surprise to me, and my ears were burning off by the time he finished, but...was it Romantic? I thought it was one of the most Romantic things he had ever done for me.

The point I'm making is that "Romance" doesn't have to come in a pretty gift, or an expensive night out on the town, or even a touching verse on a Valentine's Day card. Romance can be, and I think, should be, an everyday occurance. It's in the little things we do for the husband or wife we love, the glances we give to each other from time to time during the day, the hand-holding as we take a walk, and the sweet, even if brief, kiss we give as one of us goes out the door. My husband and I are more in love today than the day we exchanged our vows, and I would hope that all of you are, also.

What are the things that you considered Romantic about your spouse?

Until next time,
That's a wrap.