I've Never Fallen In Love With The Romantic

How funny is this photo?

Today while I was having tea with a friend, we were discussing her new love interest. She was so smitten with him and telling me how romantic he is: bringing her flowers, etc. I was like "wow, I would never like that guy." To me, romance is honesty. I don't think guys need to sugar coat things with gifts or fancy dinners (it's nice). I'd rather him just tell me how he feels so I don't have to guess.

It could all stem back from my parent's dating history. My parents started dating when they were in high school so clearly my father could not treat my mother to high class meals. So instead they opted for Roy Rogers and Dairy Queen. My father was into cars and so he had a new "fixer upper" every few months. One had a rusted out hole where your feet should go. Another had a crack in the windshield so when it rained, it would flood the car. My parents laugh how when they would stop at a stop sign they would open the car door and dump the water out (so romantic, right?). They've been married 30 years so obviously my dad was onto something.

Deniece Williams song "Let's Hear It For the Boy" kind of sums it up with the lyrics:

"My baby may not be rich
He's watching every dime
But he loves me, loves me, loves me
We always have a real good time."

I don't want to be smothered by society what society considers romance but would rather enjoy my time playing a game of Scrabble with someone. You could say I feel this way because I've never dated a romantic guy. To that I say... yes, but that's because I've never been attracted to that type. The most romantic boyfriend was the one who wasn't afraid to be himself, to tell me he liked me, or to tell me he was excited about our date.

How do you define romance?