"My heart to you is given:
Oh, do give yours to me;
We'll lock them up together,
And throw away the key."
~Frederick Saunders
You would think that after 25 years of marriage, I would know how to define romance. When I think of romance, I am transported back to when Steve and I first met, when we were dating, and the early years of our marriage. Sometime after that, our lives became full of kids, school events, jobs, and more and more stuff. I'm not saying that our relationship is no longer romantic, just that it has changed. We are loving, comfortable, adventurous, growing, learning, secure...but, romantic? Not sure.
I chose the picture at the top of this post as my entry for this week's Photo Theme Project because it is one of the most romantic things Steve has done for me. One morning last winter, he got up early, scraped the snow and ice off my van and started it for me so it would be nice and warm. This is not new. He does this for me frequently. The romantic part was, that after I left for work, he wrote messages to me in the snow. I found the snowy words when I came home for lunch. How sweet is that! It made me feel special and loved.
But, this week I need to think more about romance.
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It would be hard to get a current-day photo of the Romantic era. How could I depict Romance languages in a photograph. Hmmmm...my mind is thinking pretty hard right now.
Maybe I could capture images of a romantic spirit, sentiment, emotion, or desire. Some probably equate romance with sex, but I'm not that kind of photographer.
Daydreams can be romantic. Do little girls still dream about their knight-in-shining-armor? Not too many knights roaming the streets of Elk River, so that might be hard to capture. Kissing a frog, who turns in to a prince, is romantic. Our garden tree frogs and toads are basking on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean right about now...at least in their dreams. Another no-go, but I'll keep trying.
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| Pappajohn Sculpture Garden |
I could post pictures of Brian and Dayna's wedding. They are so in love. Everything about the wedding was romantic...the couple, the setting (Lutsen Ski Resort), the location (Summit Chalet overlooking Lake Superior), the transportation (gondola). This has possibilities. But, the photos were taken in October, not this week.
Flirting can be romantic. I'm not sure I remember how to flirt.
I've heard of "romancing the stone," but have no idea what that means. We certainly have plenty of stones I could photograph.
Traditions can be romantic. I love courting benches, joggling boards and love padlocks.
I took this photo on the Via Dell'Amore in Cinque Terra, Italy in October of 2009. The quote and frame were added using Picnik. This "lover's lane" hugs the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and connects the towns of Manarola and Riomaggiore. Lovers write their initials on a padlock, lock them on the fence, and throw the key into the sea. That's pretty romantic!
Hearts can signify romance, as can flowers, perfume, jewelry, diamonds, dancing, elegant dining, and candlelight.
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| Part of ERHS Book Display |
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| Hyacinth |
Here were my free-flowing photograph ideas for this week's Romance theme...in no particular order:
tree with heart around initials (S+Z), satin/silk fabric (lingerie...my winter jammies and socks probably won't do), aphrodisiacs (oysters, ginseng, champagne, chocolate, asparagus, strawberries), heart bokeh effect, thoughtfulness, weekend getaways, bed & breakfasts, surprises, red, one rose, wine glass, fireplace, doing stuff together, Sunset Bay, location (beach...frozen Lake Orono, probably not), sunsets/sunrises, rose and pearls, heart stickers on the dog and/or cat (good luck with that one), inside jokes, Harlequin romances, holding hands in front of the fireplace, making a heart shape with hands, love letters (do emails, IMs, Skype qualify?), holding hands while walking, kissing, playfulness, spending time together, Cialis bathtubs, frequenters at Daddy O's, date nights, weddings...
Here's a bonus quote for this week: "The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray." I may have had lots of ideas, but time was rather short this week.
A road trip to the Quad Cities (Iowa and Illinois) got the week off to a fun start. Our 25th wedding anniversary was on Valentine's Day (that's pretty romantic), and we went down "south" to celebrate. Did I take any pictures that work into the Romance theme? I think I got a few covered: weekend getaways, doing stuff together, location, sunset, playfulness, spending time together and, something I hadn't thought of earlier...heart-shaped pepperoni pizza!
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| Doing Stuff Together and Playfulness (Letterboxing) |
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| Weekend Getaway and Spending Time Together (Carving Workshop) |
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| Location (Hennepin Canal revisted) |
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| Doing Stuff/Spending Time Together (Photography) |
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| That's Amore! |
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| Iowa Sunset (photo by Steve) |
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| Cooking Lessons |
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| Signe, Dayna, Brian, Zoma and Steve |
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| Now and Then: 25 Years! |
Related Links:
A Perfect Match (medically romantic)
Joggling Boards
5 comments:
Loved your blog!! It was full of 25 years of romance...not too bad!! I think you captured it's essence quite well! I am glad you and Steve can be counted among the few these days that have accomplished the art of marriage! I wish you many, many more!! Love you both!
Kay, thanks for the kind words. As you know, we have had some bumps in the 25 years, but with God's help, we have survived! :-) I hope you are feeling better. Love ya!
Don't they say something about love being wasted on the youth or something like that? It's easy to love and be romantic when your bodies are perfect and life is easy and carefree. True love and romance come from those tiny moments in very old love stories, when you are able to still treat the other person with dignity and respect 'in spite of' rather than 'because of.' It seems to me you have lots of evidence that romance can and does thrive in a time-tested marriage. Thanks for the post and once again congrats on 25 years;-)
Congratulations on 25 years! Melissa and I are heading for 28, and we wonder how on earth that happened. We've just gotten over a few bumps of our own...laughing helps.
Catherine, yeah for you and Melissa! Time does fly by doesn't it. I feel like I have shared a wee bit in your adventure in "Hit By a Farm." I can honestly say sheep testicles have not been a part of our 25 years and I think that's okay! Best wishes for your 28th and many more!
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