I’m a sucker for romance. Just a hint of love – a sweet older couple walking by, two high schoolers making eyes at each other, a bridal party taking photos in a garden – makes me feel better about things in general. And when I can find romance in a movie or music (books, too, of course), well, that can even make my day. To wit:

I’m a great fan of the Big Band Era and find the love songs absolutely swoon-worthy. In fact, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (pronounced Barclay), a British song released in 1940, is one of my Top 5 love songs of all time. Divinely, gorgeously romantic, it is a perfect example of the wartime love songs so popular then. Just the first few lines: “That certain night / the night we met / there was magic abroad in the air / There were angels dining at the Ritz / and a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.” And it gets even better from there. Sigh. (Note: Rod Stewart’s 2004 recording of this standard is wonderful – check it out.)

And movies? Whether it’s the we’ll-always-have-Paris romance of Casablanca or the I-swear-that’s-our-story (well, minus the deli scene, maybe) of When Harry Met Sally (the perfect rom-com in my book, written by the brilliant Nora Ephron), these movies restore my faith that real love, true love, is alive and well – if imperfect – throughout the universe.

Which leads me (very nicely, I hope) to the romance within B.’s and my own four walls. We love us, and we love our marriage – and we know how important it is to keep the romance a-kindle. Little things like one of us buying the other one flowers “just because;” like B. putting some music on and grabbing me to dance for a few minutes while I’m in the midst of making dinner; like my finding him a new time-travel book because he loves those; like him giving me the biggest hug of my life when he knows I need it most (which, these days, is every day). These are the things that remind us why we are together. The grander gestures are wonderful, but it’s the little daily things that make the difference.

Now here’s where the night-sky part of the story comes in. As someone who sees (and seeks) hearts in everything, I recently discovered a company that offers what I think is a very romantic concept – an image of the actual night sky (stars, constellations, moon) wherever you were on any given day in your life. You can add your own message to the image and – voilà! – you’ve got a moment to remember on those days when maybe there are no flowers, when he steps on your toes dancing, or when you’re too impatient to stand still for a long hug. You know, those days when you might forget, momentarily, just how special each moment is.

I ordered two night-sky images – one for the day we got married and the second for the day we met. The first (Santa Barbara night sky) borrows some words from When Harry Met Sally with a twist of my own: “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. I’ll have what you’re having … always.”

For the one that marks the day we met (Ithaca night sky), I borrowed from A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, with another original twist: “That certain night / the night we met / there was magic abroad in the air / Fireflies were dancing in their light / and a nightingale sang at Cornell there.”

One image has a midnight-blue background; the other, aquamarine (because color is romantic). Both are framed and displayed where we see them very, very often each day.

Sure, maybe it’s a little corny for some people. Maybe a little overly sentimental for others. But in my book (or movie or song)? True romance.

To the nth degree.

©2024 Claudia Grossman