Can't Buy Love...

I admit, I am a hopeless, head over heals, in love with being in love, makes no sense romantic. I read romance books, I dream of romantic encounters, I’m a compassionate and loving girl and I’m generally a romantic type chick when it comes to any dude I’m dealing with. So I gotta tell you, if a man can match or even come close to the level of romance I have then he is top of the pack in my book. This got me to thinking that romance doesn’t always mean who has the most money or who buys the most expensive gifts. Not to say that sometimes money is not needed but you would be surprised how far a well thought out compliment, whispered word or creative way of expressing feelings can go. Let me give you an example-I was stuck in a seriously boring training and a guy sends me a text just to say hi...I let him know that I was stuck in a boring training and was desperately trying to stay awake and not 5 minutes passed before he had emailed me a poem called “Hot Butter Chocolate” that had me smiling from ear to ear for the next 2 hours (especially since most folks know that I am in fact, a chocolate girl)-That, my friends, is romance. Walks on the beach or anywhere hand in hand, picnics in the park, love letters (Thanks R.Kelly for the song), musical compilations, poems, cards, dancing, hugs/kisses, teaching me something, surprises, actions-all of those things take thought and effort and that’s really all romance is-effort. I’ve been more impressed by men who take the time to find out what really interests me and then act on it than by dudes who just drop money on meals or gifts (Side Note: Please don’t take this to mean that I don’t appreciate that as well, my momma ain’t raise no fool!), all I’m saying is that mixing it up sometimes is much appreciated and often reciprocated. Now one of my previous posts spoke to the art of courting which is along these same lines but some recent encounters really sparked my “romance” button-people who are not afraid to express how they feel and make their intentions known. I don’t know about you but I’m too old to still play games when it comes to relationships and dating so its refreshing to have someone tell you what they think when it relates to you. A friend of mine has a boyfriend who just so happened to hear her say in passing that she wanted a food scale for the kitchen and so she could measure what she was actually eating-she wasn’t asking him to get it, she was just talking as part of a conversation-a few days later it showed up at her house. No notice, no fanfare just something that showed he actually listened to her and wanted to make her happy. I’ve never seen someone so hype over a scale but it was about more than just the item, it was the thought that was behind it and his romantic cool points shot up the meter. Sometimes it’s just the simple things that get you head over heals in love with someone-phone calls to say you’re thinking about them, being more concerned about what they want than what you want, being willing to compromise or do something they want to do just so you can see them smile. Romance is a gesture and Love, Real Love, is a feeling and you can’t buy Love.