In my mind romance cannot be forced, and should not be forced, it is a natural occurrence that happens in a relationship between two people who love each other. I also don’t think that romance is the same for everyone, as it should be, for every relationship is different.

When we look at our relationships if we are just seeing the black and white, then we are missing a whole lot of grey in between. It is often these grey tones that in future years will have the most meaning.

I find that rather than being disappointed that someone did not notice something I have done, or did not do something I expected… if I focus on the doing it just because I wanted to in the end it has more merit, even if it is from my own perspective.

In my own experience if I play a romantic scene in my head through to the completion I will often times be disappointed. If however I just set the stage with my efforts, the results are normally rewarding.

I have given up doing things for people because I think they are expected of me… I now do them because I want to. I have found over the years that this works the best for me in all areas of my life.

People can say that Valentine’s day is just another day on the calendar - one that is promoted in all the stores, and on most of the TV commercials…. for me it has become another day to make that extra effort to let Jamie know that I am happy he is in my life. Not because I have to… or because it is expected of me…. but because I want to…and when the calendar changes to February 16th I will still be making that same effort.

Maybe this has come with watching how fast the years have gone by, and with the realization that with each passing year Jamie and I are getting older…. perhaps the realization of my own mortality is kicking in to the point that I think or feel that if I don’t do it today, I might not have the opportunity to do it tomorrow.