I live about 20 minutes walk from the ocean. In the last few days, i’ve walked there frequently since we’ve had some nice weather in the evenings – sunny but cool. A couple of days ago, i decided once i got to the beach that it was a tad to cold to sit and stare into the water, so i walked along the beach. As i was walking, i stopped every once in a while to look at the waves. I knew roughly when the sun was going to set, so i timed my walk to be back at a certain spot i had discovered the evening before. It was a wall that allowed me to stand right above the waves without getting my feet wet (and cold). That’s were i stood as the sun disappeared behind the cloud bank. I was struck how romantic this was! Here i stood hearing the sounds of the waves as the sun was setting. The sky was spectacular – not from the sunset but from the cloud mountains. I felt refreshed and renewed. And i realized that i wasn’t missing a thing – or a person. I was completely contend being there by myself. That led to my next decision: I had planned to stop by a store on my way home to pick something up for breakfast. Now i added a nice dinner to my mental shopping list. I had things to celebrate that i hadn’t celebrated yet – the end of a successful semester. I even splurged and bought some wine. At home, i set the table and lit the candles. I had a wonderful romantic dinner and was overflowing with joy. I shared that with friends via email, which was enough sharing for me. That led to an email conversation with a few friends on the meaning of romance. Usually, we think about romance as something that happens in a coupled relationship. To me this evening had been very romantic yet i wasn’t with anybody – it was just me and nature and then a candlelight dinner. Maybe it is the feeling of celebration, of a special connection that makes a romance – whether that connection is with the ocean, the clouds, or another person. I am not quite sure but am planning to experiment more in the future. Hopefully, there will be a few more sunny evenings soon…

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