A Lesson In Romance

Back in the day when cell phones were more commonly referred to as “car phones” you could expect to lose your connection on a regular basis. A more common occurrence was when you would lose your connection and end up listening to someone else’s conversation.

That’s exactly what happened to me one Friday afternoon during my rush hour drive home.

Suddenly I was listening to a conversation that has changed my view on romance and love ever since.

A man had called his wife to advise her he was about to leave the office to come home.

She responded by teasingly asking if he knew what she had done that day. When he inquired she stated: “I made our last mortgage payment”.

“Wow” he replied. “Remember the day we purchased our house and how excited we were?”

“I’ll never forget it” was her response in a reminiscent tone. “Can you believe it was so long ago?”

“The time has flown by, but it’s been wonderful” he said lovingly.

A few seconds of silence passed… and then she said in her softest voice yet:

“Hurry home honey”

“I love you” He whispered back and hung up.

The connection broke and I drove in deep thought for fifteen minutes. I was letting it all settle in. I had to digest the lesson I had just been taught as a result of my innocent eavesdropping.

I surmised they must be in their 50’s and therefore pretty “old” in my mid-twenties mind. They, contrary to common thinking, still had love and what I now started to understand as romance in their relationship.

But how had they achieved that after so many years I wondered? Doesn’t romance fade over time and there’s nothing you can do about it?

The answer is no, and at that point I came to some important conclusions:

Romance isn’t necessarily an event like a candlelight dinner. It can simply be how you talk to your partner. It can even be a kiss on the back of her neck while she’s cooking dinner or a certain “look”…you know the one.

Romance can be a simple loving gesture as much as it can be a specific event.

Maybe it’s even a lifestyle.

I’ve concluded that having romance in your life is really your decision. Like anything else, if you really want something, you will inevitably find a way to have or create it. Time doesn’t cheat us from romance. It’s our apathy over time or our unwillingness to see our own influence within the relationship that does.

This was the lesson I learned one random Friday afternoon from two incredible, complete strangers.