Tuesday, February 16, 2010

I received the most loving and thoughtful gift, from my loving and thoughtful husband, on Valentine's Day. Not only was it imaginative, I could tell it took time to plan it, execute it, and then wait with anticipation while I brought the whole thing to conclusion.

This sweet man, my Michael,who knows me inside and out, and thatI like solving a good mystery, sent me on a "treasure hunt", so to speak. I was told to go to my office and instructions would be awaiting me on my desk. When I arrived, a red heart shaped box was sitting there. I opened it to find some chocolate and a piece of paper folded up. The paper revealed a riddle, made up of clues from our life over the years, that would lead me to my next destination where I would find another treasure. In order to know where to go next, I only had to decipher to the riddle. The riddles themselves were the "treasure".

The first riddle included a key piece of information: a line about walking in one day and seeing me trim flowers for my grandmother, which apparently sent his heart reeling, and was his first clue that he was kinda-sort of liking me. With this in mind, I knew exactly where to go. There, tucked in the snow, was another red heart shaped box, more chocolate, and another riddle.

My second destination was also easy to figure out, after reading the riddle of course. This spot we consider sacred, an intersection where my husband, who at the time was just the man I was falling in love with, planted the sweetest kiss on my temple. I had invited him to dinner with friends, not as a date, but just as something to do to lift his spirits, since they were pretty low at that time. He was driving behind me, and when I pulled up to a stop sign at said intersection, I felt the urge to run back to his car just to thank him for coming. Then came The Kiss. In the riddle he mentioned pausing here each time he drives past it to give a hallelujah shout out for the change in his life that took place there. Ok, hugely sweet! Let's just say the rest is history!

Last, but not least, riddle number three took me to the place we first made our home together. Another red box resting in the snow, another riddle, and more chocolate. Standing there by the mailbox with the numbers 2012 on it, memories of being cozied up in front of the fireplace together came flooding back. Lots of late night talks, movies, and remembering the time I came home to find he left me little love notes written on the smallest post-it's I had ever seen, stuck all over the walls in a trail of where he knew I would walk when I got there. As I paused outside that home that someone else now owns, I missed it, yet felt strangely disconnected at the same time. We've moved on.

We've made so many more memories together since then. We've moved to other homes, started our business, traveled to fabulous places, and are watching our children grow up, on the cusp of leaving our nest. I look around at my life, and everything and everyone in it, and I realize I wouldn't want to do this with anyone but Michael. I feel so blessed and honored to be here with him.

1 comment:

  1. what a wonderful valentine's day and what a wonderful Love!

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