- Rainbow Over the Ohio River (Cincinnati)
I have been categorized by best friends—as well as by significant others—as “not romantic.”
I’m always surprised when someone makes this observation, because (of course) I find myself to be ridiculously, if silently, romantic. But not overtly, girly romantic.
Romance feels like a combination of perception/perspective, theory, and individuality. Consider:
- Public or private?
- Actions or words?
- Routine or singular?
- Serious purpose or playful-casual?
- Serendipitous or intentional?
- Traditional or bucking trend?
- Serves your best self or The Other’s best self?
Recently, The Conductor asked what I thought was romantic. It’s taken me a long time to formulate an answer (he asked me weeks ago). I have a personal answer for him, but I also have a public answer—because I’m hoping you’ll share a romantic moment too—in the comments.
What do you find romantic?
A few romantic things that I’ve done:
- Assembled a handmade book of IM chats from a first year together
- Snuck into an apartment and cleaned up a big mess
- Wrote a series of intentionally bad Valentine’s Day poems
- Spent more hours driving/traveling to be with someone than the non-transit time spent together (sometimes as a surprise)
- Bought airline tickets on the sly
