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.