This Love by @ElsaKurt #RomanceGems



Things I Do To Aggravate The Husband

Hello, my new friends. I'd like to share some musings and some photos with you as you get to know me. Today's thoughts are both silly and sappy, so bear with me. As a writer of romance, I often think about the nature of love. It’s sort of a job requirement, I suppose. This morning, with coffee in hand, laptop (and dogs) on lap, and husband snoring in the bedroom, I began thinking about how love changes over time. I found myself chuckling in between the snores and sentence pauses because ten years ago - when our love story began - I couldn’t imagine that specimen of a man doing something so unattractive as snoring.

That, of course, was the new love phase, when everything they say and do is magical and perfect. Little flowers and hearts float around your heads all day. Every text or phone call is greeted with giddy excitement. Adventures abound and nothing can bring you down from the clouds. You can scarcely imagine it getting any better than the all-consuming lusty love of it all.

Our Wedding Day

And then it does. Slowly, almost unnoticeable at first. Ease and comfort replace the awkward getting-to-know-you and nervousness. He doesn't have to tell you he hates broccoli or likes his pizza crust burnt, you already know. You stop wondering if every little fight means the end. You relax, open up, trust, and let yourself fall.

Love stops always looking like flowers and fancy dinners, but more often like Chinese takeout, an old movie, and your ratty pajamas. It stops sounding like, "I'm so in love with you," and more like, "I unloaded the dishwasher for you, babe."  Love, in its maturity, feels less like a roller coaster, and more like a canoe on a gently rippling lake. To be sure, I love all stages of romantic love. But I love this kind of love most of all.

My sweet, still snoring husband asked me once - early in our relationship - if I was in love with love. I laughed and said, "Absolutely. Who wouldn't be?"

He persisted, "Yes, but how can you be sure you love me, and not just the idea of being in love?"

It was a fair question, one I didn't have a ready answer for. In my forty-seven years, I've had plenty of experience in falling in love. In fact, I was fabulous at it. And yes, more times than not, I'd fallen in love with an idea of a man, rather than the men themselves. As to be expected, those relationships crashed and burned once the blinders came off.

Kind of Sums Us Up

Then came this man. Is it too cliche to say this time was different? Because it was. Different. Unexpected. Challenging. Real. For the first time, I didn't plot our entire future after a first date. I forced myself to live in the moment. I locked my rose-tinted glasses in a virtual drawer. I traded the word  'forever' for 'so far.' I let the relationship grow at its own pace. I learned how to love more than just an idea. I figured out that love is no puzzle at all. It is Timing, Chemistry, Patience, and Tolerance. It's romantic dinners and snoring. It's vacations and holding hands when faced with the worst news of your life. It's seeing his car in the driveway when you get home and smiling that he's there... and swearing because he didn't bring up the garbage can. Love is a life built on moments.

So sappy, right? I'm not always like this, I promise. But it is Valentine's Month (Pshh, Valentine's Day isn't enough for us!) Bear with my sentimental waxings, there's only a little more to go... 

In light of this love fest post, I thought I'd share with you my most swoon-worthy book for the hopeless romantic. It's called Still Here, and it is about a  couple named Damon and Birdie Harrison. On their fifth wedding anniversary, they charter a boat to a small island named Tumau. A tragic event occurs, shattering their idyllic lives. One is bereft and devastated, the other lost. But all is not what it seems, and Tumau holds a secret that changes everything & challenges everything they thought they knew.

I'd love for you to check it out HERE

This book is so dear to my heart because it is, at its core, a love letter to my husband. I wanted the world to know - in my quirky way - how grateful I am to be loved by a man such as the one I married. Though the story is pure fiction, its heart is in truth.

Now, if you've just gone into Diabetic shock from all that sweetness, let me save you with my not-so-sweet Rom-Com, The Awkward Woman's Guide to Dating (After Divorce). It's exactly what you're thinking- mishaps, mismatches, and mayhem for the newly divorced Keira. She's juggling work, kids, a real jerk of an ex-husband, so why not throw online dating into the mix? In other words, just what the doctor ordered for the mature single ladies in the house ;) If you'd like to check it out, click HERE

As we continue to get acquainted, I'll share more of my stories (and the stories behind them!) But for now I'd like to thank you for letting me into your world. I truly love getting to know my readers, so come on by and say hey on social media @authorelsakurt any time.

Oh, and don't forget to enter the Romance Gems’ “Comment and Win” weekly drawing for a $5 Amazon gift card. The first drawing is this Friday! Just comment on any of our posts throughout the month and you’re automatically entered.

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