NOTE: This entry was written by my wife, Kristi. It was part of a blog we co-authored called “Love at First Touch” from 2011-2013. 

I am a girl so, by definition, I am a sucker for a good romance movie. I’ve seen all of the good Meg Ryan romances, swooned to classic stars like Cary Grant, and weeped at countless chick flicks.

But I’d never really gotten them. I appreciated them and I longed for the romance enjoyed by those on-screen heroines. But I didn’t really feel a connection to the romance. The movies left me with a sense of longing like I’d missed an important part of my own plot. I assumed something was wrong with me. I assumed that many times during my 18-year relationship with my ex. Looking back, I realize that there was something wrong with us. Not him, and not me, but us as partners. We just weren’t well-matched. We tried so hard to make it work, but we didn’t have that magical chemistry that seemed to come so easily to our movie counterparts.

I’ve been with Jesse for almost a year, and recently I had an epiphany. I was watching “Sleepless in Seattle” for perhaps the tenth time, but this time was different. When Tom Hanks looked into Meg Ryan’s eyes for the first time, I felt their connection. I understood why she smiled when she held his hand for the first time. I felt her giddiness when she kept looking up at him as though wondering whether he was real.

Now, when I watch romance movies, as I am at this very moment, I connect with the female leads and I feel what they seem to feel. My heart jumps and I smile. When the lovers look into each other’s eyes I understand why they swoon. I finally have this great romance in my life, and it makes me feel like I’ve been reborn as someone brand new and shiny.