I think you can always tell a good article by how quickly it takes the reader to go and write a similar piece themselves. Having recently applied on-line for the Cath Kidston catalogue I am now bombarded with magazines full of beautiful bits and bobs. Anyway, in the back of the latest magazine was an interview with an artist called Rob Ryan and one of the questions was “People have this idea about romance…” His answer was short and sweet, “To me, romance is seeing an 80-year-old couple…staying together…it’s about the long haul.”
It then took me a grand total of three minutes before I whipped out my laptop and began writing about romance.
Romance. The sheer thought makes me crave roses, chocolate and long country walks and if Jane Austen taught me anything it’s that on occasions getting your petticoat dirty will make Mr. Darcy smile that little bit more.
However, I do think Rob Ryan has a point. I remember walking along Chester river a few years back with an old friend and as we sat on an iron bench and watched the world go by an old couple walked past us arm in arm. My friend then told me his biggest fear was growing old. This seemed so contradictory as there seemed nothing scary about this old couple, two people couldn’t have looked more in love and happy if they tried. This couple summed up what romance was and it appears Rob Ryan saw the same couple.
That is another associating world-wind-word, love. The two are so closely linked it makes it hard to believe that you can have romance without love. I remember many a night when the stars have been out, the world has been silent and it has just been myself and a guy kissing under a full moon. But there was never any love there; even to this day there is no love there, just romantic situations that should have been shared with someone else.
I don’t think it helps that my parents have been together since they were kids, which means my personal expectations of romance are far more imaginary than most peoples. In my mind you find your soul mate, other half, spouse and that’s it, you two are set for life. Obviously there is more than one right person for everyone, or else the only reason these 80-year-old couples are so romantic, will be because they have spent there entire lives looking for each other. But maybe that’s why so many people get divorced?!
There is a quote from a film that says “I think attraction is often mistaken for love” but can’t remember the film…it was clearly a classic. Anyway, I think this quote is true and lust can disguise the obvious and why get involved with the viscous cycle of romance and love when you can save yourself from getting hurt and just play pretend.
Love is everything the world says it is, heart wrenching, hard work and beyond all, will make every emotion in your body go loopy. I fell in love once and he broke my heart, twice.
However, the memory of this old couple is worth a million more heart breaks and there is no reason why romance can’t be present when you’re 21, 30 or 80-years-old.
Until then dream of your prince, riding on his white stallion, ready and waiting to wrap you in his arms and whisk you off into the sunset…
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