How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways
When I began this blog, I promised to show my heart. Currently, it's divided among 27 tiny boxes, each one containing a memory I've shared with John. (If you read my post, Sound of My Soul, you know the song, "Boxes" by the Goo Goo Dolls has become our theme song.)
After a tumultuous and expensive year and a half of moving many times and not being sure of anything except for the strength of our marriage, we have settled back into a comfortable groove. Unfortunately, both of us have been busy acclimating to new jobs, so were haven't had tons of mental energy once we get home. Sometimes, we spend our time at home working. Often, I think about doing something nice for him, but I can't seem to gather up enough will to peel my butt off the couch. I try to say nice things, to show how much I still appreciate him, but I get sidetracked.
Our upcoming anniversary on the 27th seemed like a perfect time to wow him with a meaningful (and cheap) gift. When the song came on the radio during my morning commute a few weeks ago, the idea struck me. I ordered the boxes and paper, then let it all sit, vowing to get to it each night in the roughly 1.5 hour span I have before he gets home from work. But, there's the dog to walk, dinner to make, laundry to fold, etc. So it all sat.
When he announced he had to go into work this morning, I knew this was my opportunity to get it done. I'm so glad I did.
Listen, I'm no marriage counselor, but I will tell you this: If you're feeling blah about your relationship or taking the person you love for granted, this is a great way to rekindle all the warm, fuzzy feels. As I wrote a memory on each of the pieces of paper I cut into hearts, I laughed, and I cried. Each stroke of my pen reminded me why I love him after 27 years of marriage and over 30 years together. I included things like the time he stepped in to play Santa at our neighborhood Christmas party when the other guy backed out, a perfect day we had sitting outside at a Starbucks in Naples, the cool breeze making the branches of the palms sway gently against an impossibly blue sky, sitting on our family room floor before we moved out of our house of 17 years, picking through all of our wine corks to take out the special ones (the buyer wanted the vases filled with corks as part of the furnishings). Not all 27 were big memories, just those when I remember feeling especially close to him, those times that warmed my heart.
It's those tiny memories that won't ever fade, those little moments I stockpile in my heart that make me realize I'm blessed.
After a tumultuous and expensive year and a half of moving many times and not being sure of anything except for the strength of our marriage, we have settled back into a comfortable groove. Unfortunately, both of us have been busy acclimating to new jobs, so were haven't had tons of mental energy once we get home. Sometimes, we spend our time at home working. Often, I think about doing something nice for him, but I can't seem to gather up enough will to peel my butt off the couch. I try to say nice things, to show how much I still appreciate him, but I get sidetracked.
Our upcoming anniversary on the 27th seemed like a perfect time to wow him with a meaningful (and cheap) gift. When the song came on the radio during my morning commute a few weeks ago, the idea struck me. I ordered the boxes and paper, then let it all sit, vowing to get to it each night in the roughly 1.5 hour span I have before he gets home from work. But, there's the dog to walk, dinner to make, laundry to fold, etc. So it all sat.
When he announced he had to go into work this morning, I knew this was my opportunity to get it done. I'm so glad I did.
Listen, I'm no marriage counselor, but I will tell you this: If you're feeling blah about your relationship or taking the person you love for granted, this is a great way to rekindle all the warm, fuzzy feels. As I wrote a memory on each of the pieces of paper I cut into hearts, I laughed, and I cried. Each stroke of my pen reminded me why I love him after 27 years of marriage and over 30 years together. I included things like the time he stepped in to play Santa at our neighborhood Christmas party when the other guy backed out, a perfect day we had sitting outside at a Starbucks in Naples, the cool breeze making the branches of the palms sway gently against an impossibly blue sky, sitting on our family room floor before we moved out of our house of 17 years, picking through all of our wine corks to take out the special ones (the buyer wanted the vases filled with corks as part of the furnishings). Not all 27 were big memories, just those when I remember feeling especially close to him, those times that warmed my heart.
It's those tiny memories that won't ever fade, those little moments I stockpile in my heart that make me realize I'm blessed.
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