Practical Romantic?

Romance:

adventurous, amorous, bathetic, charming, chimerical, chivalrous, colorful, corny, created, daring, dreamy, enchanting, exciting, exotic, extravagant, fairy-tale, fanciful, fantastic, fascinating, fond, glamorous, idealistic, idyllic, imaginary, imaginative, impractical, invented, lovey-dovey, loving, maudlin, mushy, mysterious, nostalgic, novel, passionate, picturesque, poetic, quixotic, starry-eyed, syrupy, tear-jerking, tender, unrealistic, utopian, visionary, whimsical, wild

If practical was found anywhere in there, I would be very shocked.

So what is a Practical Romantic?  Let me first define “romance”.  To those who do not understand where I am coming from, the first thoughts you have are wedding bells, rings, honeymoons, and bridal showers.  But my definition is entirely different.  MY kind of romance may or may not involve Mr. Wonderful.  I began this blog to entertain myself with the “simple joys” ( to be cliche) that so many people overlook.

Romance does not call for another person; it is the enjoyment of the beautiful, the lovely, and the pure, seeking the little blessings God has placed along our pathway to lighten the burdens of daily life.  The Romantic spends life seeking these blessings and enjoying them to their full extent.  However, there is another side to this equation.  The Romantic can also tend toward irresponsibility, dreaminess, and can be, in one word, impractical.

The Practical girl spends her life rockin’ and rollin’ — perhaps stopping to weed the roses, but never to smell them.   She is always busy, always working, always moving.  While she is both effective and helpful, she can also be abrasive and insensitive.  She may not value friends and relationships as much as the Romantic does.  A balance must be struck.

The Practical Romantic is both the dreamer and the doer; the wistful and the worker; the lover and the leader.  It is this balance that must be found.  The Romantic must learn to be useful and effective, the Practical must learn to value beauty and love.  The one who can combine both will find that planting the roses often makes them smell that much sweeter.