Did you know that August is National Romance Awareness Month?  There was a big article in last Sunday’s paper about tapping into your romantic side with help from an expert.  Included in this article were 8 tips to be sure romance lasts a lifetime.  I ran these by my husband to be sure he was being romantic enough.  Here are his responses:

Me:  Do you make regular deposits into my emotional bank account?

Him:  Is this one of those “touch-feely” things?

Me:  Yes.  Just answer the question.

Him:  Say it again.

Me:   Do you make regular deposits into my emotional bank account?

Him:  (Shaking head. Looking clueless).  We communicate.

Me:  Do you recognize and accept bids for connection and respond to them?

Him: Huh?

Me:  Do you know how to practice self-soothing and try to remain calm during difficult discussions?

Him:  (Deer in the headlights look).

Me:  Do you create an environment that encourages honest conversations about my hopes, dreams, aspirations, and goals?  And do you take it one step further and create shared meaning in our relationship by building a sense of purpose?

Him:  This is too deep for my shallow mind.

Me:  Do you focus on having frequent thoughts and acts that cherish my positive qualities and minimize your focus on my negative faults and avoid negative comparisons?

Him:  When you ask me questions like that I’m thinking about when the car needs the oil changed next.

Unfortunately,  he then ramped up into “preacher” mode about how we both made gut-level decisions to be committed to our love and we built on that through daily reinforcement by words and actions.  When he gets into “preacher” mode, he can go on for hours.  I did the only romantic thing I could think of.  I pretended to listen while secretly reading “Dr. Abby.”