For the month of February, I am blogging about love- all kinds of love. I’m kicking it off with a tribute to my hub-a-luv.
He is known by many names. Most of my family calls him Ken or food nazi. Some friends call him Barney. His best friend from college calls him White Trash. And I, call him Lorenzo or Special K or boo or blankety-blank, depending on the day. None of these are his actual name.
A few nights ago, Lorenzo was going to bed while I was still editing. I told him I had a few more pages to get through then I’d come to bed.
His comment was, “I’ll be waiting and missing you every minute.”
I think he was being sarcastic but you can never tell with him. Of course, I abandoned the computer and gave the sweet man my attention instead.
After twelve years, he knows how to push my buttons. I’m not saying that is always a good thing but more often than not, it is a good thing. He knows what to say and when I need to hear it. He is the voice of reason and practicality. He keeps me grounded when I’d rather have my head in the clouds.
The first line of my Birthday card from him this year said “Loving you is fun.” (That is a great song by Easton Corbin, by the way.) But for us, it is true. We have fun together. We are friends and lovers.
The Greeks have four different terms for the word Love. Here in the US, we love pizza and love shoes and love our family and friends. We use the one word to express many different kinds of love.
The four Greek terms are Eros (romantic love), Storge (parental love), Philios (friendly love), and Agape (supernatural or unconditional love). The first three are human love, the last is Godly love. The best marriages have a combination of all of these, especially the latter.
With all of these types of love, we have hope for a permanent love and a lasting friendship, in this life and beyond.
Eros is also where we get the word erotic. It conveys physical and mental attraction. It is the whispered words of affection, the glances, the love letters, the passion, the romance— the stuff romance writers bring to life on the pages of our manuscripts.
I’m not saying Lorenzo is the most romantic man on the planet but he does what he can. When we were planning our five year anniversary trip he surprised me with this:
Hawaii Baby
The note says these are a few of the things we’ll see in Hawaii. Yes, that is a grass skirt and there was a coconut bra. After the trip, he told me not to expect anything big for ten, fifteen, twenty, etc. Every year, he tells me he’s taking me to the Redneck Riviera, also known as Panama City Beach, Florida. We’ve never been.
At ten years, we went to Germany, Austria and Italy with a hundred of our closest friends but it still counts as our anniversary trip. It was especially romantic on the gondola ride in Venice where my BFF and I sat together and Lorenzo and his BFF sat together. It was ninety-nine degrees in the shade with a heat index of a hundred and fifty. They gave us peach wine coolers to drink. It was ten in the morning. Not exactly romantic, but definitely memorable. We had fun. That’s what we do.
Not sure why we did it this way?
It’s not just the big stuff though. It’s all the little things like opening doors, meeting me at the car to unload the groceries, taking out the trash, or loading/unloading the dishwasher. It’s also the compliments and kind words and sweet nothings.
As much as I love reading and writing romance, at the end of the day, those guys are fictional. My hubby is the real deal even if I don’t use his real name. He is shy.
So, Lorenzo, this February, in honor of Valentine’s Day, which is supposed to be about love, I booked us a room at PCB. Just kidding. If we were to hit the Gulf Coast anytime soon, the man would ditch me for a motor boat and a fishing pole. And that’s okay because I’d be on the beach, under an umbrella, with a romance novel in my hands.
But seriously boo, lovin’ you is fun. Here’s to many more Februarys and anniversary trips.
I’d love to hear from you about the romance in your life—or the romance you’d like to have in your life.
That is a super nice post. It made me : )
Thank you. I just sent your gift card so check your email.
My husband is so romantic – he keeps trying to convince me February 15 is Valentine’s Day (I do get the BEST 75% off candy, though :)) Great post!
Awesome Heather. He’s a keeper. LOL
Lol, I can top Heather…my DH married me a week after Valentine’s Day…a)b/c it’s hard to forget, b)his chances of getting a romantic gift (on sale to boot) is that much higher. Yup, love my dude. 🙂
Good planning on his part. I see lots of lovely red roses in your future.
I am so glad that you are happy! What a wonderful writer you are!
Thank you Chris. I hope you are happy and have a very love-filled February and beyond.