The Essence of Romancing (Part 1)

Romancing: The art of expressing emotion in such a way that someone feels loved and special.

     Saturday evening I had the privilege of kidnapping Jon! It had been a spontaneous idea but the past week had been kind of stressful and long and it had been quite a few months since our honeymoon in Jamaica so we'd been wanting to take a vacation somewhere. I wanted it to be super special, unique, and fun but within a reasonable budget (since Christmas is coming up, ya know!).
     I made all the arrangements on Friday while Jon was at work and then just waited for Saturday to arrive. I began to get super nervous that maybe he wouldn't like my surprise or something would come up with his work and the timing wasn't going to work out or something drastically heartbreaking like that. But we woke up on Saturday morning and went for coffee at Panera Bread, just like normal. I do have to admit I barely remember anything that we talked about cause the whole time I was thinking, "Oh man should I tell him I have a surprise or no? Jon is on call, what if something happens and he gets called in to work? Oh man it's going to be Awesome! What if he isn't surprised?" I frantically tried to remember a movie where Sandra Bullock or Jennifer Anniston had a perfect script and asked sly, nonchalant questions about work schedules without giving away the surprise, but the only scenes I could remember were ones where the surprise had gone bad! Lol and that wasn't really helping my inner heart tremor so I decided to spill the beans.

     "Well Babe, what would you like to do after lunch? Do you have to work?" I asked nonchalantly. ;) "Oh well I do have to work a little but other than that I'm good with whatever." "Ok that's great because... well... I have a surprise and I'd like to take you somewhere!" "What?! A surprise for me?! What is it?" "Well, I can't say or else it wouldn't be a surprise! I think we should get all your work done and then go but it's a little ways away so I don't know if it's going to work with you being on call." "I can have someone cover for me so I shouldn't have to go in." (whew! That lifted a load off my chest!) So we scooted over to work with Jon asking questions the whole way about the surprise! My only response was, "Hmm great question, but I just don't know...! *wink, wink*
     Jon finished up all his work at the office and then off we went down the yellow brick road to our surprise destination. We pulled up about an hour later and I proudly announced we were at a Bed & Breakfast for a mini weekend getaway! The mountain lodge was perfect and had great scenic views complete with decks, fire places, outside jacuzzis, and wonderful staff. Jon was so surprised and couldn't believe I had planned this all for him! I had even smuggled a suitcase into the truck without him knowing.
     Our entire stay was so relaxing and romantic. We had an incredible dinner for two, relaxed in the jacuzzi, and had good heart to heart conversations. It was incredible not to have to think about work or cleaning up the apartment or running errands, but just to focus on us and enjoy each others undivided attention.

     I'm so glad it worked out for us to go and that everything went without a hitch. Now, I do have to confess I Googled "how to romance your husband" before I hatched my brilliant plan! Ha, I know, horrible right? But for all I knew he thought socks were romantic! I know how I defined romance but I had no idea what Jon thought romance was. It turns out Jon just wants to know I was thinking about him and that I planned a way for him to feel special. It could be anything from an I-was-thinking-about-you candy bar or filling up the gas tank in the truck or planning a trip like I did.
     Everyone just wants to know they are special to someone and were thought about from time to time. And I honestly believe that it's in the unexpected ways that that is communicated the best. Romance can be shown to anyone. Your mom, dad, best friend, or even a stranger (although I do recommend using a word other than "romance' if you plan on sending your mom flowers or giving a homeless guy a hamburger from McDonald's)

To be continued...