A Slice of Orange is closing the 25 Days of Romance Contest by bringing you a Bonus Blog from Maureen Child. We plan to announce the winner of the contest on March 6th. Thank you all!
On Valentine’s Day, my daughter Sarah called on her drive home from work. We usually get a lot of chatting done while she’s stuck on the freeway and that day was no different. Of course, the conversation turned to Valentine’s Day and she asked me if her father had given me the box of See’s Bordeaux that has become tradition in our house. When I assured her he had, she said, “Your sweetheart always comes through, doesn’t he?”
It wasn’t until much later that I realized how true her statement really was.
Mark and I were married when we were kids (although we were not twelve as Sarah insists) and we’ve been married a long time. We sort of grew up together and I can honestly say that even when he makes me nuts, I’m still nuts about him.
Nothing shakes Mark. Where I’m volatile and explosive, he’s steady and quiet (not that he gets much chance to talk around me). He’s the patient one and I’m the one most likely to erupt like some long dormant volcano suddenly springing to life when everyone least expects it. We were a team when the kids were little and now that they’re grown we’re still a team. The team we were when we first started out. And it’s even more fun this time.
Mark is the rock in my world. I’ve always been able to count on him. When my car breaks down in the worst possible place at the worst possible time, I know I can call him and he’l ride to the rescue. When I’m feeling like the world is crashing down around me, he makes me laugh like no one else ever has. When I’m on deadline, he listens to me whine. When I’m obsessing about a new book, he never asks what I’m doing as I stare blankly into space.
And back when I was sure I’d never sell a book, Mark always believed in me.
Romance isn’t just the stuff we write books about’the first flush of love, the excitement charging the air. It’s also about being there for someone every day. It’s about laughing together over jokes no one else will ever understand. It’s about holding hands in the movies and dancing in the kitchen.
It’s about always coming through.
Maureen Child
http://www.maureenchild.com/
EXPECTING LONERGAN’S BABY, Desire, April, ’06
STRICTLY LONERGAN’S BUSINESS, Desire, May ’06
SATISFYING LONERGAN’S HONOR, Desire, June ’06
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What a great blog!! I got all sniffly, reading about Mark. Isn’t it great when we find a good one?
I think “showing up” in a relationship gets lost in the media hype of what is romantic. Romantic is being able to count on someone day after day–even when we have the flu, or are crabby, or forget to shower. Romantic is having someone on our side, someone who believes in us and wants the best for us. Romantic is staying in love and being best friends and being a team.