by Carol Burnside (aka Annie Rayburn)

Initially, I was going to talk about Valentine’s Day which is coming up this Thursday. When I mentioned this to Miss Maggie, she paused in mid-stream pour of my cup of tea and harrumphed. I’m not sure what that meant, but I forged on. In preparation for writing this romance post, I took two online quizzes which were supposed to determine whether or not I was romantic. Now, I know I am, but answered the questions honestly, even when I suspected they weren’t on the highly romantic end of things. But during the process, I noticed a vast difference between the quizzes and it changed the slant of my post.  

On the Quizopolous  site, the questions centered on what I consider lazy romance – much like clichés in writing fiction. Songs, reading poetry to one’s partner, bubble baths, moonlit beaches, flowers, my pajama choices. I scored 4 out of 15! Me. A romance writer. The verdict was that I considered matching sweatpants romantic. At my exclamation of dismay, Miss Maggie peeked at the screen over my shoulder and shook her head. 

Then I took the Chatterbean quiz and was pronounced a ‘Hopeless Romantic!’ This quiz got a “There ya go.” comment from Miss Maggie as she carried our teacups to the sink. The questions here were more about my habits. Do I kiss with my eyes closed? Fiction or non-fic? Love stories or comedy? There were questions about my feelings on PDA and whether I thought about my partner during the day. IMO, they were focusing more on my inner romantic nature rather than outer, schmaltzy behavior.  

Perhaps it’s my age, or the fact that I was raised by practical-minded, frugal women, but there are a lot of supposedly ‘romantic’ things I find frivolous and even consider them lazy clichés. Yes, I’d be somewhat disappointed if my hubby bought me a heart box of candy and a bouquet of flowers for Valentine’s. That worked when I was 14, but now the candy would sabotage my diet. (I’ve lost 12 pounds, y’all!) The flowers? Eh, I could live with them as long as he didn’t spend a small fortune. I’d rather have a nice evening out with him or a piece of jewelry that reminds me of the occasion.  

Romance is me getting the oil changed and filling the gas tank before a trip because Hubby was out of town and it would be a mad rush for him to get those things done upon his return. It’s remembering to keep a supply of his favorite diet pudding on hand, his favorite drink stocked or picking up his business mail while I’m in town so he doesn’t have to stop at midnight after a long day of traveling. To me, those things say “I love you still, after more than three decades of marriage.” 

I’m betting our readers and my blog sisters have some definite opinions about what’s romantic and not. Please share. Name three things you find romantic or tell me how you show your love in everyday ways.