And the Winner is… Romance

Whether it is through romantic thrillers, obstacle-filled dramatic love stories, or light-hearted romantic comedies, movies have often played a starring role in romance as a reliable date night idea.  Even though seeing a movie is common, that doesn’t mean it has to be boring.

As I contemplate how I would like to spend the weekend stretching before me, I remembered that the best films of the past year will be honored at the 87^th Academy Awards ceremony this Sunday.  This inspired me to come up with a way to incorporate the Oscars into my plans, as well as to make a few suggestions for date ideas for my readers who live in other parts of the world. (Since my husband also happens to be one of those readers, there goes any chance I had of surprising him!)

As many of you know, many of my weekends involve Walt Disney World in some way and this one is no exception.  I figured what better place to start an Academy Award-themed weekend than at Disney’s Hollywood Studios?  It just so happens there are a few special attractions there right now, including a photo opportunity with the gorgeous gold leaf carriage used in the new, live-action movie, Cinderella, which opens in three weeks.  Besides being something beautiful and fun to see, I thought the carriage would fit my theme because it is from a movie directed by an Academy Award-nominee, which also features an Oscar-winner as the wicked stepmother, and another Academy Award-nominee as the Fairy Godmother.  In addition to the carriage, Hollywood Studios is showing an extended sneak peak of Cinderella, which I think will be fun.

Next, my husband and I are going to head over to the Disney Animation building, where we are going to experience “My Oscar Moment”.  Once there, we will get to walk the red carpet and pose with an authentic Oscar statuette.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to have our photos taken with an actual Oscar and I think my husband and I will both get a kick out of it!

After posing with our Oscars, I’m sure we’ll be hungry, so I made a lunch reservation at The Hollywood Brown Derby.  This is one of my absolute best-loved restaurants.  The décor reflects the glamour of the Golden Age of Hollywood with walls covered with caricatures of all of the old movie stars.  After eating, we will probably go on The Great Movie Ride, which is one of my husband’s favorites.  It uses Audio-Animatronics, special effects, and projections to showcase classic films inside a building that was modeled after Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Candy Conversation Hearts

Since that is probably enough for one day and we do have other things we need to get done, I’m going to ask my husband if he wants to wait until Sunday afternoon to go to the movie theater to watch one of the Best Picture nominees.  As I was checking the listings, I noticed that our local theater is showing the collection of the 2015 Oscar nominated Animation Shorts and a separate showing of the nominated Live Action Shorts, in addition to the individual nominated full-length films.  No matter where you live, it’s probably a safe bet that the nominated movies are being shown this weekend at a theater nearby.  Make sure you remember to hold hands and steal a kiss while you’re at it.

If you’d like to go above and beyond seeing a movie, perhaps you could plan an evening with an Academy Award winning theme.  You could dress up for a glamorous night at the Oscars complete with a dinner you make at home that matches the theme.  Believe it or not, there are all kinds of Oscar-themed recipes on the internet.  Some of the dishes go along with the nominated movie titles in amusing ways, such as Grand Budapesto Pasta, “Whiplash” Jazzy Chicken Drumsticks, and “The Imitation Game” Imitation Crab and Cucumber Salad.

If you prefer a more casual approach, you can watch the Academy Awards together and serve movie theater refreshments with a twist.  On foodnetwork.com you can find 50 different flavored popcorn recipes that will help you make your snacks something special.  Serve nachos, malted milk balls, or any of your sweetheart’s favorite movie theater foods, snuggle up under a big blanket, and share your predictions with each other about which films you think deserve to win.

If watching awards shows aren’t your thing, try playing a movie trivia game together.  In addition to numerous board games, there are also plenty of free games available on the internet.  Perhaps the winner gets a kiss.  That way, nobody loses.

If you enjoy watching movies, but don’t like to go to the theater or don’t like any of this year’s top films, consider watching classic movies that have won Academy Awards in the past.  Have an at home movie marathon of past Oscar winners that you can purchase on DVD or even check out for free from your local library.

Whatever you and your leading lady or leading man decide to do, make sure to roll out the red carpet to having fun with each other and share your stories with me at nancy.rose9@comcast.net

Please share your thoughts and “like” my posts here and at www.facebook.com/belleoftheballpoint .  Also check out my boards at www.pinterest.com/nancyrose9 .

Romance Now, Romance Later

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching.  From grocery stores and restaurants, to windows I pass on my evening walks through my neighborhood, there seem to be hearts everywhere I look.  For those of you who follow my blog, you know that I include a photo of a heart in each week’s post.  You would think this would be the perfect opportunity for me to snap enough pictures to last throughout the year. While it is true there are many hearts out there, I don’t want fifty-two photos of various sized heart-shaped boxes of chocolate and cutout paper heart decorations.  I want something different.

Last week, as I stood waiting at the post office, I found just the thing: mailers.  Large red envelopes decorated with white hearts, offered for sale on a rack of shipping supplies.  After I retrieved my phone from my purse and snapped a quick photo, I thought about how perfect these envelopes would be, not just for Valentine’s Day, but for presenting tokens of love throughout the year.  They would work quite well on anniversaries or any time someone wanted to give something romantic to their spouse in a heart-covered envelope.  The best part was they were not limited to use on one day of the year, since there was no mention of “Valentine’s Day” on the envelopes.

Heart-covered envelope I found at the post office

Similarly, love and romance should not be restricted to February 14^th.  Instead of viewing Valentine’s Day as the sole time during which one is obligated to give their spouse roses, chocolates, a card, or a dinner, I would like to suggest it is the perfect time to stock up on all kinds of romantic items for use throughout the year.

Take the party store, for example.  At this time of year, you can find all kinds of great stuff to use in planning romantic days and nights.  There are paper plates and drink ware covered with hearts for future romantic picnics and dinners.  Heart-shaped balloons and garlands and decorations that say “Be Mine” and “I Love You” can be purchased now and stored away for a surprise date at home with your spouse in the middle of summer. Red heart gift boxes, cookie cutters, cake pans, baking molds, and love-inspired baking cups to make special cupcakes for your special someone.  Or go online and look for bright red paper honeycomb centerpieces with hearts and cupids for a romantic table any time of year.

This is also a great time to look for heart-shaped lockets, bowls, paperweights, pillows, and a number of other gifts that you can save for your anniversary or any time you’d like to add some romance.  Of course, affectionate greeting cards are another item that can be found in abundance this month.  Why not stock up?  In this case, you don’t have to completely steer away from cards that have the words “Valentine’s Day” printed on them.  You can always grab a pen and add a few words of your own, changing the card so that it says something like “Every day with you is like Valentine’s Day”.

Even if you live in an area where there are few stores with Valentine items, you can still find all of these things on the internet.  Putting in a bit of effort now, will enable you to add a touch of Valentine’s Day throughout the year and to keep the fairy-tale romance in your real world marriage.

Please share your thoughts and “like” my posts here and at www.facebook.com/belleoftheballpoint . For more romantic tips and ideas, check out my boards at www.pinterest.com/nancyrose9 .  You may also reach me at nancy.rose9@comcast.net .

Return to a Place of Romance

There is such a sense of sadness that goes along with the end of romance.  This is true, not only in regard to the demise of a relationship, but also with the loss of the idea of love as it was once found in an image, a moment in time, or even entwined in the memory of a particular place. This week, I am grieving the death of romance as it existed in a setting and an era that have passed.

I am sure some of my readers are familiar with the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania.  Some of you may also remember two well known honeymoon destinations located there, Penn Hills Resort and the Mount Airy Lodge.

Penn Hills Resort, which started out in the 1940’s and expanded in the 60’s with the addition of a golf course and ski resort, was known for romance and passion.  Many of us recall the resort’s advertisements and jingle, “For lovers only.  If you’re in love, you’ll love Penn Hills!” Romantic dining, dancing, private heart-shaped Jacuzzi bathtubs, and an outdoor swimming pool in the shape of a wedding bell helped set the stage for many romantic getaways.

Photo I took in 1986 of the heart-shaped tub in my suite at Mount Airy Lodge in the Poconos.

Mount Airy Lodge was even better.  For more than fifty years, couples flocked to this resort, which not only had its own bright red heart-shaped tubs, but, in their Palace suites (where I stayed in 1986), there were private swimming pools and fireplaces in the room!  During its heyday, Mount Airy’s Crystal Room, a 2,000 seat showplace, hosted entertainers like Milton Berle and Bob Hope.  Over the years, guests enjoyed skiing, ice-skating, horseback riding, hiking, archery, golf, and lots of other activities in addition to the passion stoked by roaring fires and plush, round beds.

My stay at Mount Airy Lodge was a surprise birthday trip/ romantic weekend that I arranged for my husband.  The mountains were beautiful with their autumn foliage, the food and champagne and dancing were good, and the getaway was very romantic.  In fact, I had such a wonderful time; I fully intended to go back there for a longer vacation.

Unfortunately, that day never came and now, sadly, it never will.  I assumed the Mount Airy Lodge, which had been around for more than a half-century, would continue to attract couples looking for romance.  But, as time went on, people started going other places, the headliners left for Atlantic City, the huge mortgage became overwhelming, and the place became run-down.  In an article I just happened to accidentally run across only a few days ago, I read how the owner took his own life the day before the foreclosure hearing, and the Mount Airy Lodge shut its doors for good in 2001.  Penn Hills had a similar fate, several years later, also falling into disrepair.  I saw horrible photos of it, stripped and crumbling, with plants and mold growing all over various parts of the old resort.  It really broke my heart.

I’m not sure why it took me so long to discover the fate of these former destinations of love and romance.  I guess I was just busy with other things.  I wish it hadn’t happened.  I wish I could go back.  Why do we take so many things for granted?

It’s just like all of the sights I meant to see whenever I lived in various places throughout the country.  I would learn of an attraction, a museum, or some natural wonder nearby and think to myself, “I’ll have to go there one of these days”.  And, although I did make it to some of those places, there were others I missed because I figured I lived there and had plenty of time to get to them.

How about you? Are there places you have been meaning to visit?  Why not make plans with your spouse to go.  Even better, are there any places that represent romance to you?  How about where you met your spouse, the site of your first date, the place you were when your spouse first kissed you.  Maybe the two of you went on a special weekend away from home?  Or the site where you or your spouse proposed?

Take a moment to think about the settings where your romantic memories came to life.  Consider visiting one or more of those locations with your spouse as soon as possible.  If they are far away and it is not possible to travel to your special spots, at least plan to relive the memories with each other by looking at photos of the places or at least reminiscing together about what those places mean to you.  Relive the romance and the love of your shared past, using those feelings to bring you and your spouse closer together in the present.  If you do, you will be taking one more step toward putting some fairy-tale romance back into your real world marriage.

Please leave a comment about the place you would most like to return to with your spouse.

Also remember to scroll down until you find the “Follow” button, enter your email, and reply to the confirmation email, so that you can receive one new post each week via email from Belle of the Ballpoint.  It’s free and offers tips on ways you can find more romance in your relationship.  Also please “like” my posts on www.facebook.com/belleoftheballpoint and check out my boards on www.pinterest.com/nancyrose9  You may also reach me at nancy.rose9@comcast.net

Date Ideas to Warm Your Heart

Staring out the window at trees wearing only half of their leaves, while sipping hot Darjeeling tea, I am almost fooled into believing it is cold outside.  While it is January and my friends further north have been dealing with freezing temperatures for a few weeks, it is a comfy 79 degrees where I live.  Although it is expected to get cooler on the weekend, it will still be a far cry from feeling like winter.  And yet, I yearn to do something different for fun, something that I wouldn’t do in the middle of summer.

Heart carved from ice I found at the attraction: ICE! featuring the Nutcracker at the Gaylord Palms Orlando

Whether you are someplace cold or in a tropical climate, your romantic life can grow stale, if you don’t try something new once in a while.  The following winter date ideas offer some suggestions of things you can do with your spouse during the colder months.  Although a few of these require snow, many of these suggestions can be carried out regardless of the climate in which you reside.

1. Enjoy a coffee tasting. Go on a search for the perfect cup, either by going to different coffee shops and sampling the different types or buying several flavors and brewing them at home. The same thing works just as well with tea. A few years ago, my husband and I signed up for a tea seminar and tasting. Not only did we learn about all of the different kinds of tea, we had fun finding out which ones we both liked and joking about the ones that were awful!
2. Take a drive to the nearest city and search out a little culture by going to a concert, museum, play, or art gallery.
3. Go ice skating, sledding, have a snowball fight, build a snowman, or make snow angels followed by hot chocolate.
4. Rent movies with a winter theme like, Trans-Siberian, North Face, Grumpy Old Men, Fargo, Into the White, Whiteout, Love Actually, Frozen, or Doctor Zhivago, and snuggle up under a blanket with your spouse.
5. Go to a comedy club.
6. Warm up in some hot springs or a hot tub.
7. Go to a hockey game.
8. Head to a ski resort for the afternoon and take snowboarding lessons or go snowshoeing.
9. Go antiquing or visit thrift stores or used bookstores in search of special treasures.
10. Take a cooking class together. If none are offered in your area, there are several really good courses available on DVD that you can order online. Just pop in the DVD, have some fun preparing the food with each other, light some candles, and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

This week, give one of these ideas a try or come up with your own favorite winter date.  I’d love to hear how it goes.  Please leave a comment or email me at nancy.rose9@comcast.net

The Romance of Playing

My husband and I recently had the pleasure of spending a few days with my sister, my brother-in-law, and my two nieces on a mini vacation. The purpose of the trip was to spend some fun, quality time with family, and that is exactly what happened.  We talked and shared with each other while relaxing in the hot tub and sauna.  We listened (and danced a little) to street music, watched giraffes, zebras, ostriches, flamingoes, and wildebeests, and rode buses, boats, and monorails.  My nieces and sister made art, I played pool with my brother-in-law, my husband played checkers with our niece, and all of us laughed.  We even visited a few shops, ate some ice cream, had a few good meals in restaurants, and played 18 holes of mini golf.

We had good times together and I believe it brought us all closer together. Even though we stay in contact with text messages, phone calls, and Facebook, even though we see each other at various family gatherings and holidays throughout the year, there is something different that happens when people get together just to have fun and play.  It adds a layer of richness to their relationship and joy to their life.

Vintage heart clock with a couple swinging: a gift I received from my husband

The same thing is true within a marriage. Relationships that are enriched with laughter and fun will be able to hold up better when difficulties arise.  The following quote on having good times together, taken from Harmony in Marriage (published in 1939) says:  “Recreation, especially, lightens burdens of fatigue and care, and at the same time promotes harmony and gives life a good taste.  It is well named when it re-creates, and every home ought to build into its experience plenty of good times planned and carried out together.  Therefore, the two should be alert to find the available things that are fun to do together.”

And please do not overlook that important last word: “together”. I know many people who spend plenty of time enjoying their own hobbies and interests, but they do very few fun activities with their spouse.  Perhaps you can learn to enjoy something your spouse does for recreation.  If you have tried and it just isn’t your idea of a good time, then look for activities you both can enjoy.

The following poem, also taken from Harmony in Marriage, although somewhat dated, still sums it up nicely:

Happy is the wife

Who knows how to be a playmate

To share and enrich her husband’s leisure

And happy is the husband,

Who is giver of good times,

And a comrade to his wife.

For many burdens and cares

Must be shared within the home,

But in good times together,

They lay up larger stores of joy. 

Look for something fun to do with your spouse. Find a way to play.  You can try some of the activities we enjoyed on our little getaway or come up with your own.  Play checkers or a board game.  Play pool, or miniature golf, or real golf, or tennis.  Fly a kite or fly high up into the sky on a swing.  Ride bicycles or horses.  Go fishing or swimming.  Jump in the leaves.  Play in the snow.  Paint a picture or put a puzzle together.  Go hiking or do karaoke.  It doesn’t really matter what you do as long as you both enjoy it.  By playing and having fun together, you will give yourself and your spouse the gift of a full and happy life.

Romance at Home

I believe in romance.  I also believe in all of the topics I have written about: posts that encourage spouses to show their love for one another with gestures, pet names, love letters, planned dates, public expressions of love and good manners, writings about noticing small acts of love from others and carrying out a few ourselves, stories of special memories of how someone met their spouse, or of their wedding proposal, or of their honeymoon, advice from readers about what makes their relationship work, and one guest blog about how music can keep the romance alive and another about creating a legacy of love for our children.

These all sound like topics with which most people would agree, yet I have encountered a few who seem to think what I write about is not a very weighty subject, and, as a result, they dismiss it out of hand as fluff.  Once again, this week, I turn to the antique book I mentioned in my last post.  The following words, taken from Harmony in Marriage, are still relevant today and explain one of the reasons I write about romance.

Heart birdhouse I found at a little antique shop.

“The vows at the altar do not make further courtship unnecessary, but prepare the way for it to be more complete.  Persons who have learned how to please each other before marriage ought to continue to develop this art afterwards.  Law, custom, and a marriage certificate cannot make a home, and even the promise to love while life shall last is not complete unless it is carried out continually in words and acts.  Married people should be lovers and sweethearts no less than engaged people are, but more, each stimulating the normal love impulses of the other by being provokingly lovable.  The period before marriage is an apprenticeship in love.  After marriage comes fulfillment.

People who continue their lovemaking at home do not need to seek comfort from outside adventures, nor even to spend much on expensive entertainment; but the home in which either one is starved in the emotional expression of love is an incomplete home and more subject to the invasion of outside attachments.”

That sounds like reason enough to me to encourage romance in marriage.  And, since this quote refers to what happens at home, I thought it would be appropriate to write about romantic dates you can actually have at home.  Although there are plenty of ideas out there, I have decided to share a few from my own life and hope that my husband will not mind.

One of my favorite stay-at-home dates had a beach theme.  After dinner, my husband led me out onto our deck, where he had set up our hammock.  He turned on a CD player, and popped in a disc filled with the sound of all kinds of ocean waves.  There were very soft, lapping waves that reminded us of our honeymoon in St. John, and louder, crashing waves.  There were also mosquitoes.  When we could no longer tolerate them biting, we moved our beach indoors, turned on an oscillating heater to make it feel warm like the beach, pushed “play” to restart the ocean waves, and ate a tropical dessert that involved mango sorbet and fresh raspberries.

Another time, I decided we should have a Lady and the Tramp night.  We were still living in Virginia at the time and I was missing Tony’s Town Square Restaurant at Disney World, which is based on the restaurant where Lady and the Tramp had their first kiss in the movie, and is a place my husband and I went to on several occasions while we were in Florida. Since we couldn’t go to the restaurant, I did my best to recreate it at home.  I made little Lady and Tramp paper decorations, including a paper lantern with the name of the restaurant, and played a CD of music from Tuscany, while we ate takeout from one of our favorite Italian restaurants. Afterwards, we watched the movie on DVD.

Over the years, we have enjoyed indoor picnics on a blanket on our family room floor, backlit with large metal candelabra in front of the fireplace.  We have turned off all the lights and danced for hours in the living room from everything from disco to classical.  We have played romantic board games, such as An Enchanted Evening, that called for verbal responses that were positive and supportive as well as activities like kissing.  And we have even done ridiculous things, like the time my husband performed the Pas de Deux (a dance duet) from a ballet with a giant stuffed ape as his partner, simply for my enjoyment.  I loved that one, and can’t recall any other time in my life when I laughed so hard. (Sorry, Hubby, your secret is out, a definite disadvantage to being married to a writer!)

This is just a sampling of the many different ways you can keep the romance going in your home.  I hope you, dear reader, will try some of your own stay-at-home dates.  But, most of all, I hope you will join me in believing in romance!

If you liked this blog post, please “like” it, leave a comment, or share the link, from either my blog or my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/belleoftheballpoint

In (or Out of) Sync

Up until now, the expression “Two Hearts That Beat as One” made me think about one of two things: either a couple who was so in love that they were in total psychological communion with one another, or the lyrics from that 80’s song by Stacey Q.  You know, the one that goes, “Two of hearts, Two hearts that beat as one, I need you, I need you”.  Don’t remember it?  Listen to it on YouTube and you will hear it in your head all day long.  I made that mistake earlier today and now I keep singing it and dancing around my house.

Getting back to the point I wanted to make, there is now a new meaning to the phrase “Two Hearts that Beat as One”.  In a recent study done at the University of California, Davis, a psychology professor found that lovers’ hearts beat at the same rate.  Thirty-two couples were hooked up to monitors that measured heart rates and respiration.  The couples sat a few feet away from each other in a quiet room, not speaking or touching.  Not only did they inhale and exhale at the same intervals, but their heart rates were in sync.  When the researchers mixed the partners up and tested a man and a woman together who were not a couple, their breathing did not match and their heart rates did not show synchronicity.

“Keeping Time” Photo of a heart clock I found in a shop

I thought this study was fascinating for two reasons.  First of all, it showed couples sharing experiences on a physiological level.  The researchers also found that women tended to adjust their heart rate and respiration to their partners more than the men did, causing speculation that, perhaps, this was due to women having a stronger link or more empathy for their partners.

But what about sharing experiences on a more observable level?  I bring this up because it seems to be a common complaint of women who read my blog.  I have received emails from numerous readers in the past few weeks about their disappointment and unhappiness that their husbands don’t seem to want to go out and have fun together.  According to research I have done, they are not alone in their feelings.  In fact, “Men who don’t take the initiative in planning dates” came up in the eHarmony website article, “Women’s Ten Biggest Complaints about Men”.  And, just to clear up the misconceptions out there that I have the “perfect marriage” and that I must be married to “Prince Charming”, my own husband has been known to rely on me to plan our dates and even said, “Oh, good, now that you’re writing a blog on romance, I’ll be able to read it and get ideas for romantic things to do”.  I am not joking.  And I don’t know for sure whether he was or not.

There are many stresses and problems out there that chip away at the happiness in our relationships.  Not having fun together doesn’t have to be one of them.  Since the purpose of this blog is to bring together fairy-tale romance and real world marriage, I would like to make a few suggestions.  In consideration of the fact that about one-third of my readers are men, the tips I am offering can be applied to either husband or wife.

First, find out why your spouse doesn’t want to plan/go out on dates.  Are they tired? Ill? Depressed?  Is it an issue with money?  Do they have trouble coming up with ideas of things to do?  Have they just fallen into the couch potato habit?  Don’t answer for them.  You might be wrong.  Ask.

Once you have identified the problem, it will be easier to find a solution. Remember, your goal should be to make things better.  Most obstacles can be overcome.  There are professionals who can help you with the more serious problems.  There are dates that are free or inexpensive if the issue is a limited budget. There are sources for ideas of things to do on dates.

This is just my opinion, but I think the most common cause is that spouses get lazy and simply take one another for granted.  Let your spouse know how much you would like to spend time with them and how important this is to your relationship.  To help get the ball rolling, sit down together and create a date night jar.  Take wooden Popsicle sticks, slips of paper, or anything else you can write on and list ideas for dates like “go out for dessert”, “bowling”, or “take-out and a board game”. You can even use different colors to indicate expensive dates, ones that require more planning, at home dates, going out dates, etc. Then put all of them in a jar.  Agree on a regular weekly date night and ask your spouse to pull a date out of the jar and plan it.  It solves the problem of them having to come up with an idea and, if you set one day each week to do this, it ensures you will be going out together on a more regular basis.

Spending time having fun with each other can help you and your spouse get your hearts back in sync!  For more ideas for the date jar and lots of other date ideas, check out my Romance in Marriage board on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/nancyrose9  and report back with your results to nancy.rose9@comcast.net

More Than Once

What is a blog without readers?  Those of you who follow Belle of the Ballpoint know how much I value and depend upon input from my readers.  Whether it is by sharing how they met their spouse, submitting their proposal stories, offering advice on what makes it work for them, guest blogging, leaving comments, liking, sharing, or following this site, it is my readers who are helping me achieve my goal of bringing together fairy-tale romance and real world marriage.

Recently, my readers have surprised me with a new way to get involved.  In case you haven’t noticed, each week’s post has a photo with a heart in it.  Up until this point, I have been the one taking all of the photos.  Ever since I started doing this, I have been finding hearts everywhere I go, sometimes in unusual places.  Apparently, I am not the only one who has suddenly begun noticing hearts.  Several different readers have emailed or texted me pictures of hearts they have found in unexpected spots.  The best part is, not only did they pick up on my heart theme, but they snapped the pictures and sent them to me without me even having to ask.  Some of them even seem to be getting as much joy out of finding and sharing the hearts as I get when I receive them!

This week, I am sharing one of these photos (with more to come in the weeks ahead), a photo which actually served as the inspiration for this post.  The photo is of a heart-shaped potato chip.  When I first looked at it, the old advertising slogan “Bet you can’t eat just one!” came to mind.

Photo taken by Cindi Lynch of a heart-shaped potato chip she found in her pile of chips.

How, you may be wondering, does this pertain to romance in marriage?  No, I am not suggesting that, like with the potato chips, you need more than one spouse.  I am not now, nor have I ever been, a supporter of polygamy.  Instead, it made me think about how, in marriage, it is not sufficient to simply fall in love once, when you first meet, and then be done with it.  To keep the romance alive, you must fall in love over and over again.

One of the best ways to accomplish this is to treat your spouse the way you did in the beginning.  Show them and tell them how much you appreciate them.  Make that extra effort to send a romantic text message or an email, letting them know how special they are to you.  Talk to each other about the kinds of topics you enjoyed discussing back when you were getting to know each other.  Flirt with them.  And make sure you take the time to plan and go on actual dates with each other.  It doesn’t have to be something expensive or complicated.  One of my favorite date nights with my husband took place in our family room, where he spread a blanket out on the floor, lit a few candles, and prepared a simple picnic for the two of us.

If you need some date ideas, go to my Pinterest boards at www.pinterest.com/nancyrose9  where, with a couple of clicks on my “Romance in Marriage” board,  you can find tips for recreating your first date, choosing your own adventure date, going on a free bookstore date, creating a date night idea jar, and dozens of others.  Many of the ideas are free or very inexpensive.  Also check out some of my other twenty boards for romantic gestures, quotes, love letters, and the best ideas for picnics with your spouse.  Be sure to follow me at Pinterest as I will be adding lots of new ideas and new boards.  If it is your first time on Pinterest, click on the board you are interested in, then scroll through the different “pins” or posts and click on one you would like to see. Finally, click on the picture again to read the article associated with it.

Most important of all, take the time and make the effort to keep your marriage strong.  Remember why you fell in love in the first place and do your best to make your spouse fall in love with you more than once.

Please leave a comment, “like” this post, or share with someone whose marriage you care about.  You may send original photos of hearts taken by you (Please, no images from the internet) to me at nancy.rose9@comcast.net