Be That Guy…

Ask any woman around what her biggest com­plaint is about men and more than likely she’ll give you some vari­a­tion of “there aren’t any real men left.”  What they see are a bunch of kids walk­ing around in men’s bod­ies.  But deep down, they’re look­ing for a man who will take care of them — a man who knows how to treat his lady.  They want a man who can take ini­tia­tive in a rela­tion­ship and be will­ing to…commit.

Sadly, nowa­days, these qual­i­ties in men are slim to none.  Have guys for­got­ten the art of romance and the respon­si­bil­i­ties that go along with being in love?  Most guys today want the ben­e­fits of a rela­tion­ship with­out any of the responsibilities.

Rela­tion­ships should still involve affec­tion­ate court­ing, romance, and always a lit­tle mys­tery.  Yeah yeah yeah — old fash­ioned — I get it, but with all that plagues the mod­ern rela­tion­ships, may­haps we should look to our gen­tle­manly fore­fa­thers.  Before I turn into a com­plete cheese­ball — I remem­ber read­ing the let­ters and hear­ing the sto­ries of my grand­par­ents that revealed how happy they were together and how much affec­tion they had for one another (save the snor­ing in the lat­ter years of my grand­fa­thers life which my grand­mother would never let him live down).  So per­haps we, too, can expe­ri­ence this rush of adren­a­line that comes with being that guy — with­out being THAT guy.

Here are a few roman­tic (and inex­pen­sive) things you can do to woo your lover and keep the fire going.

1. The Post-It Note: This is by far the eas­i­est and the most bang for your buck, hands down.  Leave sweet notes on Post-Its around the house in incon­spic­u­ous places; in a drawer, in a daily plan­ner, in the mailbox…pretty much any­where you know your love will visit through­out the day.
2. A Mixed Tape: Maybe not an actual cas­sette — but you get the point.  One of the best gifts I ever received was a birth­day CD with some of my favorite songs.  I still have it and lis­ten to it — and that was years ago.
3. Take a Day Trip: This one takes a lit­tle more plan­ning but can def­i­nitely lead to a closer bond and great mem­o­ries.  Pick a des­ti­na­tion an hour or so away and make a day out of it.  Be the tourists that every­one loves.  Take your cam­era.  Take some cash.  And live for the day.
4. Flower Deliv­ery: Now — I know you’re think­ing “thats not very orig­i­nal.”  And, tra­di­tion­ally, its not.  The trick is to be the deliv­ery guy.  Go get some amaz­ing flow­ers, or if you’re so skilled, make your own bou­quet, dress in some stan­dard deliv­ery garb and deliver the flow­ers your­self to the office.

Try these out and leave com­ments on the ways you woo your roman­tic interest…