February 21, 2008

I began this month with an elegant look at the Language of Romance. Elegant, yes, but rather stilted and boring on the whole. Which was my point - romance is an archaic fantasy. Love is very different from Romance.

Love, like the picture of the tulip, is something bright and beautiful. It might burst into your life like fireworks, but the euphoria unfortunately subsides as the problems arise from having to actually live with the flaws and foibles of your lover. Lasting love comes from being able to overlook the irritations and difficulties of the day to day dealings with your partner. True Love is all the good times and shared experiences and pleasure you have had together. They are more than worth holding in your heart than the pain and sorrows.

I didn't get hearts and flowers for Valentine's Day this year. One year, I got a huge bouquet of flowers and I sometimes get a box of See's candy. This time, nada. So much for romance...

On the other hand, I got a brand new computer last week and Corey took the time to fight with the Vista operating system to set up the backup disks and transfer my data.

Nor did I give the traditional symbol of valentine's love in return. Instead, I perfected a recipe for "German Chocolate Scones." We both love German Chocolate Cake - I made it for our wedding cake. But it's three billion sticky calories all conspiring to raise our triglyceride levels to diabetes proportions, not to mention adding more padding to my well-padded shape. The scones were not quite as sweet, not quite as large, and not quite as satisfying as cake. But they were an acceptable substitute.

Dorothy Parker had something to say about flowers and romance once:

One Perfect Rose

A single flower he sent me, since we met.
All tenderly his messenger he chose;
Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet--
One perfect rose.

I knew the language of the floweret;
"My fragile leaves," it said, "his heart enclose."
Love long has taken for his amulet
One perfect rose.

Why is it no one ever sent me yet
One perfect limousine, do you suppose?
Ah no, it's always just my luck to get
One perfect rose.

So you can keep your flowers and other romantic signs for your own Valentine's Day treats. Me? I'll settle for a warm scone and a fast new computer. Even if it does run Vista.