Romance and real love…. Take your choice. What do you prefer? I think I will take some of both. Now I really don’t like sappy chick flicks. They are all too predictable on one level and totally unrealistic on another level. I prefer classic movies like The Dirty Dozen, where something gets blown up. But that does not mean that I am not a romantic at heart. Today I witnessed a little bit of both in a place that you would not naturally associate with romance.

Today I visited with a gentleman who celebrated his 64th wedding anniversary with his wife this past January. They had no clue what “in sickness and in health” was going to mean in January of 1947. In 1974, they were in a very serious car crash together. In fact, they shared a hospital room for a number of weeks as they recovered  from that event. At this moment she is in an ICU unit at a hospital recuperating from major surgery. It was in that ICU cubicle that I saw quite a blend of romance and love.

She is totally sedated right now, so she is unable to communicate verbally. As I watched her husband talk to her and love on her, I was not sure where I was. In one sense, I felt like I was watching an elderly gentleman tenderly express his loyalty to his bride of 64 years.  I was in a room where true love was being exhibited. In another sense, I felt like I was the little brother tagging along on a date of two young lovers. His demeanor toward his sick wife was like that of a teenager in love for the first time.

Romance and real love….Take your choice. I saw both today. I was laughing to myself as I left the ICU unit, because the younger generation thinks they have a corner on all of the romance going on in the world. That is simply not true. I saw a couple today that appear to be as much if not more in love than they were the day they married 64 years ago. I think there must be something to learn there…Perhaps romance takes on new meaning when you have learned to love each other through sickness and health for over 6 decades.