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Thursday, July 14, 2011

Bigger Picture Moment: This Is Romance

You know how when you were first dating, and you gazed at your gorgeous boyfriend across a crowded room, your heart did little flutters?  Maybe you got a flash of remembering the perfect good-night kiss from last night, and you tingled into the depths of your (amazingly flat, pre-baby) belly.  And as you had that memory, he would catch your eye, grin like he was remembering it too, and you'd have to look away to stop the blush from creeping into your brain and coloring everything rosy before directing you to burst into a ballad about true love and tenderness and passion?

Well, this isn't about that, exactly

This is better. 

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The sun was falling as we sat in a growing slice of shade from the cliff above us.  Our table on the patio held a few drinks, a scattering of kids' paraphernalia, and empty spaces waiting for our food to be delivered.  Thankfully, there was a generous breeze -- that and the cool stone wall at our backs kept us from noticing the summer evening's heat. 

The girls wove themselves around and through a crowd of restaurant goers, many of whom were our own family, gathered for a birthday party.  They giggled and dove and raced -- all acceptable activities at this outdoor patio.

In the seat across from me, I caught Justin's eye, and he winked.  A crinkle of eye and curve of lip.  A relaxed hand resting on the tabletop. A glance in the kids' direction and an appreciative shake of the head at their energy. 

With the sunlight becoming filtered and relaxed, he looked like a celebrity, hiding away at a small-town outdoor grill to get away from it all.

But he wasn't.  He sat at the table to get into it all: the family, the laughter, the winking, the relaxing, the completeness of a life with wife and kids.

This is romance, friends. 

It is sometimes hurried and forgotten; it is sometimes caressed and sheltered; it is sometimes managed and scheduled; it is sometimes slow and simple; it is sometimes hilarious and easy; it is sometimes tender and tearful....


It is sometimes a touching of toes under an outdoor table while you watch your kids playing in the shade of a cliff on a hot summer evening.

And I still want to burst into ballads about it.





We're seeing the Bigger Picture through simple moments -- moments that force us to stop and take notice of the ways our worlds are important, meaningful, and beautiful. Please join us at Alita's place today! Grab the button, link up and then go forth to encourage the two people before you as they walk this journey of intentional living.

12 comments:

  1. Absolutely beautiful. You have such a wonderful way of painting a picture with your words!

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  2. What you describe here....it is the real deal!

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  3. AAawwwwww!

    (Now I want to go make out with MY husband!)

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  4. Really loved that post. I want to have that kind of relationship. I'm getting married in a month and I pray that I will always have that kind of love.

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  5. Love it! I always tell people that true love is when my husband slept in a horrible fold-out couch bed just to be next to me in the hospital for 23 days. :-)

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  6. I understand this in a big way. I have great love for Nick. It doesn't take much work in this marriage, because I married the love of my life. And it is good. I take comfort that there are others that feel the same way as I do about their husbands. The romance it's important, isn't it? :) I'm so utterly happy for Justin and you! You deserve the best.

    xo!
    Alita

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  7. This is just lovely. I adore the photo, too.

    This post really speaks to romance in the midst of rearing children and I can relate.

    BTW--Nick and I have matching pairs of the mid-1990s version of those Addidas sandals you're sweetheart is wearing. We can sing along with you to nearly all of the same ballads, too I'll bet.

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  8. Aww this is so cute!

    I often wonder why we portray all the romance at the beginning of relationships, with the pinnacle being the wedding day...and then portray marriage as all being downhill from there.

    There's so much romance IN marriage, so much love growing ever deeper and more beautiful. So lovely to see someone cherishing that - even if our pop culture doesn't.

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  9. Sarah -- this.is.BEAUTIFUL! I cannot even get into all of the reasons why I needed to read this tonight, but I did. And I feel very blessed by it. And thank you. Thank you for sharing this private moment and the thoughts it inspired.

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  10. What a beautiful post! Almost five years into marriage and me and my husband are even more in love than the day we married! I love coming across posts like this because it's so encouraging and sweet to see others so in love too! Lately our "dates" have been Redbox at home after our son goes to bed. True love is finding those sweet romantic moments day to day- stealing a kiss, holding hands, saying an extra "I love you", and enjoying each other. I try to not get so caught up in the day to day of life that I lose the wonder and awe for my husband and that wonderful butterfly feeling. Thank you for posting!

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  11. Gosh, you guys are just so cute! And your looooooove --it needs all those o's because it's the truest kind-- is so encouraging, so inspiring. Whenever you talk about Justin, it reminds me to take that second look at my Benjamin, remember what makes my stomach flutter about him.

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Hmm...And how did that make you FEEL?