As avid readers, writers, and even movie and television watchers of the romance genre, we probably all get a little mushy when it comes to romantic gestures, right? But what exactly constitutes a romantic gesture? What’s romantic to one person might not be romantic to the next. We can assume that what makes one person melt might make another roll their eyes.
I laughed with glee when I did a quick internet search on romance because the first entry that popped up was Wikipedia, which says romance is “love emphasizing emotion over libido.” Ha! That’s what we at Heartwarming are all about, right? Emotion, tugging at those heartstrings, turning our hearts to goo…
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| Via SarahKathrine / reddit.com |
Then there was this guy who wrote, illustrated, and published a children's book about his relationship and set up his girlfriend to find it in the library so he could propose. Now, that one gets an A for creativity. I also like that I would still smell good after it was all over!
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| Via ppaul9 / reddit.com |
To me, the most romantic gestures are those that are the most unexpected --when there is no sense of obligation involved; flowers on June 2 (or any random day) instead of February 14, my favorite candy (or an apple fritter) when it’s nowhere near my anniversary, or a card or a note just…because.
My husband writes me tons of notes and cards, which I love. So my all-time favorite romantic gesture would have to be the time I got up in the morning and discovered that he had placed sticky notes all over our kitchen--on the cupboards, the countertops, the drawers, on my coffee cup, even inside the fridge. And on each one he wrote something that he loves about me. Pretty sweet, right?
So, we would love to hear your favorite romantic gesture--one you’ve given or received…
I put a small Christmas tree on the kitchen island. One year, Duane placed a gift under it for me for each of the 12 Days of Christmas--ranging from a candy bar to a piece of jewelry I would never have bought myself. I loved waking up in the morning to see what was new that day.
ReplyDeleteThat is super sweet, Liz! You've got yourself a good guy there :)
DeleteLiz, I love this! That would make me feel like a little kid again...
DeleteMy husband had been a florist, and he continued to give me roses (my favorite) even years after he no longer was in the business. He bought a long stemmed red rose for me one day at the florist down the street. The next day it’s bloom lay on its side. He returned that one and the next every day for a week until I had one that didn’t die.
ReplyDeleteOh Marion, that's beautiful! Talk about romantic....you need to include that in a book.
ReplyDeleteTo me something romantic can be as simple as doing the dishes or vacuuming for me. It may not seem romantic but it shows he cares.
ReplyDeleteLinda, I almost included housework! There's nothing sweeter after a long day than walking into my kitchen and seeing the dishes done or my perpetually dog-hair-covered floors vacuumed.
DeleteOnce my boyfriend bought me a gift and hid it in a closet, but he also put in a rooster that crowed periodically. At least I found the gift. He's always doing crazy stuff like that.
ReplyDeleteWhen I won an award once, he had a dozen long-stemmed roses sitting on the table when I got home.
Patricia, LOL! A rooster. Wow. He sounds like a lot of fun. I think some of the most romantic times happen when we're having fun.
DeleteRon makes me tea. He can't go anywhere by himself, and uses a walker. He makes me a cup of tea, puts it in the basket under the seat of his walker, and delivers it to me. Makes my heart pitter patter!
ReplyDeleteMuriel, that's the epitome of romantic right there. What a sweetheart!
DeleteRight now I am drowning in deadline and book release stuff. I keep wishing for more seconds in the day, and last night the husband gave me some of those. I was recently diagnosed with diabetes so I can't really just decide to skip cooking and call for a pizza, or skip meals--my other tried-and-not-so-true method for dealing with deadline madness. The husband doesn't have to eat the way I do, but I pretty much end up cooking every meal every day. I'd picked up salmon yesterday, and when I went down to start it--between writing sprints, packing boxes of books for giveaway winners, and monitoring stuff on a blog tour, my real life hero had prepared vegetables to be roasted and cut up a teeny, tiny potato and smeared it with olive oil and salt and pepper. Oh--and he also washed my filthy car. To this frantic woman, that is some true love!
ReplyDeleteAnna, this one choked me up! That's the thoughtful stuff that makes a romance last forever. So sorry about your diabetes, but proud of you for taking care of yourself. Congrats on the success of your new Christmas anthology, Christmas Actually!
DeleteYou're right, Carol--it's the seemingly small things you don't expect... Thanks for the diabetes commiseration--if it happens, you either handle it, or it handles you. And thanks for the congrats on Christmas, Actually. It's been fun, and all our HH author friends have been so supportive!
DeleteWell yesterday, Mr. Curtis bought me a space heater. Romantic? Yeah. But he could also have been tired of seeing me in slouchy sweats. (just kidding)
ReplyDeleteMelinda, this made me laugh out loud! Yes, that's romantic to me. My husband recently replaced a toilet in our guest bath and I was so happy I told him he didn't need to buy me gifts for the next two years!
DeleteCarol, I've decided your husband is a unicorn. Does he really exist?
DeleteMelinda, that's funny, too. He's by no means perfect, he's just perfect for me!
DeleteIn this day and age, photos can be doctored. I mean, this is the stuff of fairy tales! Tell me he's coming to RWA next summer so I can have a confirmed sighting
DeleteI love the post Carol. You obviously have a very sweet . . . and romantic . . . husband!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kate. He is pretty great. That's one of the fun things about living with someone so long, right? They get to know what will really get to you....
DeleteMy favorite romantic gesture from my significant other was probably over a year ago, after we had gotten in a little disagreement about something stupid I'm sure, and I came home from work the next day to find a note on my bed saying how sorry and stupid the fight was... and at the very bottom, it said "P.S. I'm still mad at you"...
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, Katelyn, that is hilarious! But what a great feeling to know you're loved even though the anger is still there, right?
DeleteI love thinking about this! What a great post! For many years, while the kids were growing up, my husband brought me coffee in bed. Sigh. I would sip my coffee, pet whatever little dog was snuggled up beside me, and feel like the Queen of England. :)
ReplyDeleteKristine, Love it! I get coffee in bed once in a while, too. There is nothing better than my laptop, a hot cup of coffee, and my wiener dog cuddled right next to me. I love to hear these stories because it really strengthens my belief that it's the little things in life that mean the most.
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