When did Romance become so Romanticized?

In this day and age of romantic movies, there are plenty of examples of how romance "should be" done. Supposedly, the bigger and more unrealistic the gesture, the better. That being said, I can promise you, the last time I sat in the corner, no one came to my rescue. No one has ever taken me into Tiffany's and told me to "pick a ring." There was never a time someone took me on a canoe ride through hundreds of swans and the last time someone told me they "didn't give a damn" I was pretty pissed. Have you ever noticed most guys do not want anything to do with these movies? Who can live up to the hype? Does that mean that romance is dead? Not quiet. I just think that guys are going about it slightly differently.

A friend of mine got her romantic moment on Facebook today. And yes, it was weird typing "her romantic moment on Facebook" but stick with me here. A guy she had been casually dating left her a message on her wall telling her all the things he liked about her and then ended the message with a song he had found to explain how he felt. The message was thoughtful and avoided any comments about her booty and the song was genius (check out Adele's "The One and Only") This was a perfect show of affection for my friend who lives through music and states that life speaks to her daily through Pandora. Not only did this message make a public statement (Guys: women like public statements. Why do you think we always want the flowers delivered to our work?) but now he has all of her friends rallying behind him. I am pretty sure if she does not date this dude we will riot the streets.

I remember my favorite gift I have ever received was when my boyfriend at the time, printed up the words to my all-time favorite song ("Crush" by Dave Matthews Band) and had it framed for me to hang in my room. I remember thinking it was quiet possibly the best gift I had ever been given and with the exception of my dog (another gift from him) it is still to date my favorite thing I have ever been given.

Years later, another boyfriend bought me all kinds of great things for my birthday but the best thing he did cost nothing. He told me that the boys (aka my dogs) wanted to take me somewhere for my birthday and then he drove me and my boys to the dog park. Perfect day.

Will these examples be in the next romantic movie to hit the big screen? No. Will some people find this all lame? Yes. More lame than watching "The Notebook" with their girlfriend while she balls her eyes out and wails "Do you love me that much?!" Not even close. I am not sure if my friends guy knew she lives through music and I am sure that my exes were probably shocked that the small gesture of typing up my favorite song or spending a hour at the dog park with me would be part of my fondest memories, but sometimes it is the small things. Besides, not everyone has access to swans.