One thing about me that those that are close to me know is that I am a sucker for romance. I’m all about those sappy love stories on the Hallmark channel, my eyes tear up when I watch an elderly couple still holding hands and I get all giddy and beside myself when the guy wins the girl’s heart at the end of a movie and they live happily ever after. I'm an old fashioned girl that still loves the thought of being "courted".
I’m not sure if romance is an emotion that you are born with or if it’s just a trait that you inherit somewhere along the way in life. Regardless of how it was obtained I am glad that I am that way.
There’s more to romance though than just the flowers and kissing the rain kind of things. I think romance is what warms the heart to make you appreciate little things. Sunday morning I was watching my pastor’s son who is 4. He was standing in front of me next to a pretty little girl who stood about 6 inches taller than him and was as cute as a speckled pup underneath a red wagon. He would look up at her and just watch her as she was oblivious to his affection in his eyes as she listened to the music. Then he would just put his little arm around her waist and lay his little blonde head against her shoulder. I couldn’t help but grin watching him just admire her without any words even being spoken. Earlier we were in the choir and I was holding my granddaughter who is 2 ½. Well she has taken to the pastor’s younger son who is an adorable blonde haired boy that is not much older than her. They would play hide and seek with each other hiding behind mine and his mommy’s necks and playfully grin at each other. I remember when asked why she tried to kiss him at their house one day she said “but I wuv him”. And she dearly does as it's obvious in her little grin when she sees him. He of course reciprocates and it’s just so darn cute.
I was thinking about these little displays of affection that these kids who are unaware of what romance even means and it dawned on me that they are the perfect example of what we lose as we grow older and become involved in relationships. They have this sense of admiration in the opposite sex that is innocence in its purest form. They are simply content with just exchanging playful grins and chasing each other around the church or outside. When we get older those things lose importance and they are replaced with the constant need and desire to try to impress each other with things that aren’t nearly as important.
When we are children we get all giddy over little notes passed between our friends over to the object of our affection with the check yes or no if you like me boxes. And if he or she checks the “yes” boxes then we were perfectly content with that and it was enough to manifest visions of the fairy tale wedding that would follow one day.
Later in life we become more complex and require things much more complicated to appease our desire for romance. Now don’t get me wrong – I am all about candlelit dinners, slow dancing to “You Look Wonderful Tonight” and cards for no reason. I think those things are wonderful, but it’s those little things that we become complacent with doing without when we get older that really makes me kind of sad. I suppose what I’m trying to convey is that – as simple as a little smile is between two people that have feelings for each other it’s really one of the most important things in a relationship. Because if you can look at each other and have that desire to simply smile because of the other person then that means your heart is happy and that’s what a relationship should be about.
It’s kind of ironic I suppose that as adults we are supposed to teach our children and other children the important lessons in life. But this time I was the one who learned a lesson from two little blonde haired preacher’s sons and a 2 ½ year little girl.
