From the American Heritage Dictionary:
ro·mance (rō-māns', rō'māns') Pronunciation Key
n.1.
1. A love affair.
2. Ardent emotional attachment or involvement between people; love: They kept the romance alive in their marriage for 35 years.
3. A strong, sometimes short-lived attachment, fascination, or enthusiasm for something: a childhood romance with the sea.
4. A long medieval narrative in prose or verse that tells of the adventures and heroic exploits of chivalric heroes: an Arthurian romance.
5. A long fictitious tale of heroes and extraordinary or mysterious events, usually set in a distant time or place.
6. The class of literature constituted by such tales.
7. An artistic work, such as a novel, story, or film, that deals with sexual love, especially in an idealized form.
8. The class or style of such works.
I've fond that my own definition of romance has changed dramatically from year to year.
8 years ago, romance was a man I loved getting down on one knee, diamond ring in hand, asking me to be his wife.
7 years ago today, romance was the man of my dreams swinging me around the dance floor on our wedding night.
6 years ago today, romance was a man who never missed a day by my hospital bed, never once complaining when "in sickness and in health" turned out to be very, very much "in sickness."
5 years ago today, romance was finally getting to the "...and in health" part, planning our adventures in Germany.
4 years ago today, romance was enjoying our Anniversary dinner at the Blue Bayou Restaurant--the one inside the Pirates of the Carribbean ride at Disneyland--and going home to our very own house.
3 years ago today, romance was packing our bags for a cruise to Mexico.
2 years ago today, romance was filling out mountains of paperwork to build our family through adoption.
1 year ago today, romance was all about travel--a just-completed cruise to Alaska and an up-coming trip to see Christmastime in New York City.
This year, romance is counting down the days to the birth of our son.
I can't wait to see what romance looks like next year!
Happy Anniversary Kevin. I love you.
Posted by Shelby at November 24, 2008 11:09 PM