Romance Isn’t Expensive. It’s Attentive.
What lasts isn’t the celebration, but the closeness that comes from feeling seen, safe, and chosen. There’s a particular kind of pressure that settles in around Valentine’s Day . It’s subtle, but it’s there—the expectation that love should be proven with reservations, receipts, and something impressive enough to justify the day. Even couples who know better can feel it. That quiet worry that if the celebration isn’t elaborate, maybe it isn’t meaningful. But most couples already know the truth, even if they don’t always say it out loud. The moments that last aren’t the ones that cost the most. They’re the ones where we felt noticed. Romance doesn’t fade because money gets tight or schedules fill up. It fades when attention does. Attention Is the Heart of Romance Attention is an unglamorous word, especially in a culture that celebrates spectacle. But attention is where intimacy actually lives. It’s listening without rushing to fix. It’s remembering what matters to your partner—not wh...