I have answered all of the WordPress prompts recently, so I don’t have a question to get started. One from a few days ago sticks with me, though, so I’ll answer it again. I think my answers would be quite a bit different now:
What is your definition of romantic?
The most recent romantic thing I can think of is that I asked Zac for some citronella candles for the backyard so we could sit outside until October at my house (ask Bryn, the backyard is the definition of “home”). Instead of candles, he sent me a Thermacell Mosquito Repellant, which charges by USB and sprays mist while you’re outside. Right now, it’s going in the greenhouse, because there aren’t any less bugs inside when nothing is really insulated for this room. It’s not meant to hold humans. It’s meant to hold plants. So, the most romantic thing that Zac has done for me is allow me to do my work without bugs, whether I’m writing inside or outside.
Or as I told him, “I have a ZONE of protection, Zachary.”
The way I say “Zachary” for emphasis is not really me. It’s me doing an impression of my younger sister talking with her husband. He is “Mathew” for emphasis as well. I hope Zac gets my tone of voice… that he’s not in trouble until it’s his full name at back door level. And even then, I’m just throwing Southern shade.
Zac is the most perfect man in the entire world, as long as I keep in mind that he’s perfect in his flaws. That he’s 36 and I’m 46, which means that neither of us are immune to emotional baggage by now. We’ve both been through other significant relationships, and are in that nebulous adult age where neither of us want to deal with bullshit we’ve dealt with before. It at least has to be *new bullshit.*
Me being 10 years older than Zac is not an issue because we’re in different places in our lives. He’s younger, but much further ahead. Therefore, in a lot of ways, Zac is older than I am. I look up to him (mostly because I’m short) because he’s a great boyfriend, and also a great man to social mask, because he’s already doing what I want to do- he’s a success in a neurotypical world.
Romance is working on stuff together- one of our most memorable dates to me was when he let me “help” on a piece of fiction he was writing for a contest, and it was at *Safeway.* Romance doesn’t need to impress me with gifts. I prefer people thinking that my thoughts are valuable.
If Zac has shown me nothing else, it’s that my thoughts are valuable- I’m worth listening to even when we don’t agree.
To me, that’s the only definition that matters. I find you valuable, even when you’re wrong. You don’t have to be perfect to be mine.
Stories That Are All True 