Julianne ByerPrince Charming storms through the castle gates, shielded with armor and valor as his Fair Maiden bats her lashes, anxiously waiting to be whisked away into the sunset. Enter the White Stallion stage left and cue music while the words “Happily Ever After” scroll across the screen.
Barf bag anyone? Or better yet, how about the oxygen masks fall from the ceiling as we plummet into turbulence, and question whether or not we’ll make it out of this alive.
And just so you’re up to date, I’m talking about romance not plane crashes, so bear with me.
But to so many, romance has been crammed into a little box, and then labeled as scenario A or B. A of course is fairy tale encrusted sweetness Aÿ la mode and chocolate dipped, while B is just plain cynicism at its finest.
But that was the old days right? When courting was real, and love was tangible in cards, flowers, poetry and songs about “Brown Eyes.” Romance was a privilege and now it is-hm-good question.
Recently a friend and I had a long chat about the idea of romance and the cheesiness of it all; because it is cheesy right? Sonnets from your window ledge, cutesy-wutesy nicknames and matching tee-shirts, his and her slippers, the list goes on-
But times are changing. Courting is a thing of the past, and unfortunately while it was on its way out, it took a whole lot of things with it. Now we’ve got Blockbuster nights and matching sweats, going to the gym together and splitting take-out. Sure there are extra special moonlit walks and the every so often hot tub escape, but let’s face it. Our generation is entering a Neo-Romanticism era. Dating, “pinning,” banana splits with two spoons-we’ve moved on, and all I can say is good riddance.
The little things have taken over the grandeur gestures and in my opinion, these take a lot more effort than some showy P.D.A. extravaganza. So I say let’s have a toast to the Neo-Romantics and celebrate a change in the endless possibilities of what romance can entail.
May we live lives our grandparents would gasp at and our children will most likely look back on in 20 years and laugh at how old-fashioned and cheesy we were. Cheers.