The Season of Romance

Greetings everyone,

I'm Robin Badillo, and I'm new here, so please don't bite...(well, not too hard anyway)
In keeping with the Holiday spirit, and being humble enough to admit that no one in their right mind would want a recipe from me, my contribution today will have nothing to do with food, and everything to do with  filling you up... romantically speaking, of course. 
As a guest blogger, allow me to first say, I am so thrilled to be here sharing bits and pieces of the things that run through my muddled mind. 
I've swept away the cobwebs, polished the silver and I think everything is just right for a little trip into my thoughts... welcome to The Season of Romance...
Have you ever wondered why we love those Hallmark commercials more and more the closer we get to the holidays? How about those made for TV Christmas movies we can’t get enough of?
We already know what’s going to happen. The happy ending that warms your heart and brings a tear to your eye, proving everything we learned in Sunday school as a child was true, miracles can happen.
Recently, I participated in several online group chats with some of my favorite writing loops. Topics ranged from trivia about certain author’s books to questions in general about the endless experiences we have all had over the years during the holidays. I think everything from spiked eggnog to being snowed in at airports came up in the discussions. Some of it was funny, but some stories were quite touching.

All of that got me to thinking, and mind you, sometimes that can turn into a dangerous endeavor. I noticed that a lot of authors and publishers offer free Christmas stories or really pump up the promotion of books centered on the holidays, which of course is a natural thing to do. But the thing I found interesting was that these stories were no different than any other romance with the happily ever after endings we may already read every day.

 So, I wondered, what makes them so special just because we throw in some angels and mistletoe?

Well, the way I see it is this. 

We go about our lives every day, dragging our tired minds off to work, shoving the kids out the door to school, sit in traffic for hours on end just trying to survive the commute and return home to our average little lives every night only to catch a few hours of sleep and do it all over again the next day.

There’s nothing romantic about that. 

And for those of us who are single, widowed or apart from our significant others during the holiday season, the time can prove particularly difficult. Though reading doesn’t fill the void we may feel, it does offer something we could all use…hope.

It’s that time of year when the handsome handyman who comes to fix the overworked, single mother’s heating unit, ends up sweeping her off her feet and repairing the parts of her life she didn’t have time to see where broken. 

It takes on a different meaning. 

The miracle of love just feels better when it’s realized while sitting in front of a blazing fireplace or twinkling Christmas tree. When two unsuspecting people find more than presents under the tree…they find each other.

The story is the same, but somehow the sentiment is intensified when it occurs on Christmas or even New Year’s Eve. Perhaps it’s that one time a year when all the bad things in the world manage to fade into the background and people tend to be a little friendlier, a little more patient and yes, maybe a little more willing to take a chance on love.

I, for one, still hold onto those romantic notions that Santa may grant my every wish, or some angel will be sent to lead me to that special guy, or even some fairy has some magic dust to sprinkle over me while I sleep and I’ll awake to find Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome, wearing nothing but a smile, bringing me breakfast in bed.

Hey! That's my fantasy, don’t snicker.

For whatever reason, I still allow myself to believe that somehow, romance, love and yes, even miracles are just a little more possible during the holidays.

I plan to sink my teeth into a few holiday romances this season, whether it be the movie of the week, or a sentimental love story found only in the pages of a book. Who knows, if I wish hard enough, good old St. Nick just may have exactly what I’ve been looking for in his big red bag and I’ll finally have use for the mistletoe.

Happy Holidays everyone!! 

May your all your hearth and heart be warm and your stockings be filled with cherries and whipped cream… what you do with it is up to you!!

Robin Badillo

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