Not All Dates Are Romantic—Some Are Drawn In Crayons By The Sea

Art activities and other similar leisure are not just normal activities, especially when done by couples. It is an important gesture that creates a healthy relationship dynamic between two people. In a way, it creates a quite different way of spending time together—appreciating each other's efforts whether small or big, exploring each other's interests, and improving communication. It is also important in a way that it is a play, and play is what most adults often forget to do when they grow up. It improves their socio-emotional well-being as well as grounds us in the early experiences that greatly shaped us into healthy adults. It is an underrated skill to play and bring arts and toys into an adult relationship, and it is what makes my relationship with my boyfriend secure and mature.

Just yesterday, in a quiet afternoon before sunset, we visited the coast of Lapyahan in our town in San Remigio to watch its stunning sunset and do an art activity together since it had already been long after our last activity together, when we went to our favorite cafe spot in our town. It was supposed to be a stroll, but my boyfriend asked me to bring art materials to have some colorful moment together. Love is not always romantic, indeed, sometimes, it is two men trying to be children again, in a seaside setting, for them to find out the meaning of this life.

These are our coloring materials and our dog Zuki. We still used each other's sketch pad, and it was our first time in a while since we last saw our drawings in our sketchpads, and it brought us past memories while in our dating stage. The coloring materials were composed of color pencils, pastel crayons, and neon ballpens. I also brought clay in case we would want to have a clay-making activity, but it was not used since we ran out of time—it went dark immediately after our coloring activity.

The activity was about illustrating our dogs Zuki and Chai, which my boyfriend suggested. I had an idea or theme for what we would draw, but I agreed with my boyfriend this time since it was always me figuring out the topic to draw, and it should be him also to play the role of leadership in this kind of activity. In a relationship, each other's ideas and suggestions should be considered, since we come from different environments that shaped our different interests and patterns that we need to compromise on in a relationship.

We were passionately doing our activity, and some kids approached us, lured by our colorful art materials, and then asked if they could join us. We had one extra sketchpad, so I let them borrow it and told them to take care of the papers since they had just gotten out from the water swimming around and they could get the sketchpad wet. My boyfriend was so keen on his drawing, like he is an artist, and it made me happy that he put effort into this activity amidst his disinterest (it is my interest and he just compromised, because that is how healthy relationship dynamics work).

These are the finished products of Chai and Zuki drawings. My boyfriend used color pencils and I used pastel colors since we have different approaches to art and preferences on what kind of color material to use that is comfortable for us. Notice the difference in our drawings, but both are made with effort and love.

When we got home, we cooked for dinner some homemade and well-cooked foods mostly cooled with vegetables. We paired it with watching documentaries because we love learning relevant social and political issues through documentaries.

And maybe that is what made that afternoon quietly meaningful—not the perfection of the drawings, nor the place, nor even the sunset we came for, but the simple act of choosing to be present with each other. In a world that often rushes us to grow up and move forward, we chose, even just for a moment, to slow down and return to something soft and familiar. Something playful. Something real. And in that space, between colors, laughter, and unfinished plans, I realized that love does not always need to be grand—it only needs to be shared, felt, and continuously chosen.