Search Results for: blog what about romance

Scripted Romance

Many years ago I let my husband off the hook—the one where he gets hung up for failing to come through on Valentine’s Day.  I used to have lots of expectations until I began to realize something….his love for me is shown on a daily basis.  So why expect him to do something extravagant one day a year? Now, I’m not knocking those couples who go all out for Valentine’s Day.  Maybe it’s the fact we’ve been married for more than two decades or it could be we have grown too comfortable—who knows? I just know that my husband feels … Continue reading →

The Effects of the Media on Romance

Where do our irrational romantic impulses come from? Are they just something we naturally want; after all, everyone likes to be spoiled. But often we equate all romance with grand gestures, or expect our relationships to play out like fairy tales. We have the media to blame for that. I know I sound like a broken record sometimes, and it must seem like I think we shouldn’t watch movies or television. I don’t believe that at all, but I can testify that too many romcoms, or at least, not approaching them in the right way, can have a negative effect. … Continue reading →

Contrasting Romances in Much Ado About Nothing

Perhaps my favorite example of my type of romance is the Shakespeare play “Much Ado About Nothing.” I like it because it’s a great play (the original romantic comedy), and I admit because a petty part of me likes the legitimacy Shakespeare lends my ideals of romance and marriage. Enter the two couples: the young Claudio and Hero, in starry-eyed infatuation with one another, and the older bickering Beatrice and Benedick, who always try to outdo each other in a war of wits. Benedick and Claudio are soldiers who made the acquaintance of Beatrice and Hero when they stayed at … Continue reading →

Shakespeare and Romance: Romeo & Juliet

One of the reasons why I often like to facilitate discussion about my type of romance is because I feel that it isn’t represented much in the media. We draw some ideas of our cultural norms from the media, so others like me might be led to feel that they’re not normal. Interestingly, one of the most famous examples of my type of romance, or at least extolling against silly romance, is often misinterpreted: “Romeo & Juliet.” People will call an ideal male lover a “Romeo,” when in fact that was the opposite of what Shakespeare intended. Shakespeare liked to … Continue reading →

One-Sided Romance

Valentine’s Day has come and passed, but this year it really made me start thinking about romance. I’m sure that’s in part because I now officially write about love and marriage. But as the ads on television and the radio were dedicated to talking about getting gifts for the holiday, as friends posted pictures and comments on their Facebook pages about what their husbands got them or the frantic lines of men in department stores and flower shops on the day, I really began to wonder: why is romance so one-sided? Think about it: usually when we think about something … Continue reading →

Not My Idea of Romance

Not so much for me In my first two marriage posts I mentioned not really adhering to or enjoying “lovey-dovey” relationships. I realized if I’m going to keep using that as a contrast to what my marriage is like, I ought to define how I’m using the term. The simplest way, because otherwise the English major in me will extrapolate the phrase to death, is to do so with a story. My husband and I don’t give each other anniversary gifts, but that wasn’t always the case. When we were younger we did such things because we thought we should … Continue reading →

What is Romance?

Romance is something every marriage needs. I’m sure we’d all like to be romanced. It makes us feel good. But what exactly is romance? Ask a hundred people and you might come up with a hundred different answers. To some people it is flowers and candlelit dinners and wine. To your neighbor or best friend romance might mean something quite different. Even to your spouse romance might be something different. Do you even know what your spouse finds romantic? If you don’t then it’s time you found out. You need to do more communication. Run a few suggestions by them. … Continue reading →

Romance and the Homeschool Mom and Dad

How does your day run? Chances are if you are a homeschooling family your focus is completely on your children throughout the day. A homeschooling mom can make a lesson out of anything and usually does all day long. A homeschooling house often looks more like a classroom than a home. If you enter a homeschooler’s house, and please do not do so without ample warning, you are likely to find an array of textbooks, school supplies, art projects all nestled in with laundry, lunch dishes, and mail that has yet to be opened. What does this atmosphere say? It … Continue reading →

Real Romance

Romance to many of us, might mean gifts of flowers or jewelry or declarations of undying love. It might be special celebrations and candlelit dinners. And yes, there are times when every marriage could do with a little dose of those romantic moments. But what about the real romance of being married? The real romance can just be the joy of curling up next to the same person each night and knowing that they’re going to be right there when you wake up in the morning, every morning. It can be having that special someone to share important news and … Continue reading →

The Right Place for Romance

Last weekend in Sydney one man was in the right place looking for romance, or was he? The man among 250 women was Daniel Scarparolo, who was attending the Romance Writers of Australia Conference. From Perth this young man is writing a romance novel – his first. In a time when some publishers have gone to the wall or merged and sales are reputedly down, romance novels are flourishing. In USA sales of romance fiction were $1.37 billion in 2008. In England and Australia sales are also high. This is despite a gloomy economy. What is the big attraction? Is … Continue reading →