My boyfriend of many years and I had one of the most romantic 'dates' of our relationship...an evening of understanding...a night of sharing joyous pleasures. We didn't spend the time at a stylish restaurant or a Broadway play. Nor did it happen during a romantic weekend trip. This special night took place within the comfort of our home.

My boyfriend and I have been together for a long time so we knew each other rather completely. In fact, we could probably predict the other person's thoughts and moves. We started taking each other for granted and didn't appreciate our time together. Sadly, our romance was nearly at a standstill; bordering on boredom or even becoming close to hostility; clearly not very exciting any longer. These are pretty typical emotions of people who have been together for as long as we have. The direction our relationship was heading worried each of us. Neither of us was willing to let our lives to become humdrum, and neither did we want to settle for anything short of terrific. We were both determined to proceed to the next step and make a lifetime commitment to each other. The time had come to reignite our relationship.

Our meaningful evening at our place began simply enough shortly after supper. I brought our chocolate cheesecake into the living room and placed it on the coffee table. The muted lighting was created by the softness of four or five ]candles placed around. Our favorite music by Nora Jones was playing quietly on the stereo. We snuggled on the sofa, at ease with each other.

We didn't start talking immediately for us. We picked up our forks at the same time and and began to eat our chocolate delicious dessert. With the very first bite, we experienced the luscious chocolate flavor we both crave so much. It tasted wonderful. The smooth texture and tantalizing combination of sweet chocolate and tangy cheese awakened our dulled senses. The chance for us to begin talking happened easily enough while we ate: first about the delicious chocolate cheesecake; then about more serious subjects. It was a discussion we had desperately needed to have for quite a while.

We were able to talk about our problems and concerns; about our past and present expectations; about our future plans and dreams. Through this simple talk, we started to see that unrealistic expectations were what caused trouble between couples. We came away with a deeper understanding and truer respect for each other that night. We became content in the beautiful life we were creating together.

As long as I live, as long as my boyfriend and I are together, I will always remember the conversation we had that night while enjoying our chocolate cheesecake dessert. That was the night we realized we would make a lifelong commitment to each other, because we loved the familiarity we had with each other--plus we enjoyed the same simple pleasures in life. Sometimes it's just the little pleasures in life that keep life interesting...simple pleasures like chocolate cheesecake.