Over in the Family Life / Marriage & Relationships / Marriage Enrichment forum a member posed this question “What’s the most romantic thing your spouse has even done for you?”
The question was actually posted about a year ago, but it gets updated by other family members from time to time. Such was the case late last week when another family member wrote about a lovely Valentine’s gift her husband delivered to her one year as a surprise upon waking.
Well, it got me to thinking about all the romantic things Wayne has done for me over the years. Two stand out in my mind, one pre-marriage and one post.
Kidnapped!
During my junior year of high school, shortly before Wayne and I would celebrate a year together, we found ourselves navigating a bumpy road.
I don’t remember exactly what happened or who said what, but somehow things were too serious, too fast, we were too young, blah, blah, blah. Wayne wanted to cool things off. Just a bit. Maybe not see each other as much (which was a lot, as we spent every waking moment we could together whenever he was home from college).
Well, in the ultimate act of teenage angst, I decided I was going to make Wayne jealous so he’d realize he couldn’t live without me and things would go back to normal. I figured I could accomplish this by dating one of my friend’s brothers.
Now, I’m the one with a jealous streak. Wayne’s not like that at all. But I was sure I could make him jealous.
I did. Sort of. Mostly I just made him mad and confused. He didn’t want to split up. He’d just wanted some time to himself. But I hadn’t taken what he was saying like that at all. So when he found me at the lacrosse championships with this other guy…well, he just didn’t understand what I was doing.
I don’t remember exactly how I ended up slung over his shoulders bouncing across the field during the middle of the game. I’d left Todd to go down and say hello and be civil –not to mention rub it in that I was doing just fine thank you very much with all the free time I had lately. Then next thing I know I’m upside down and he’s flying with superhuman speed to the other side, up the steps, and to the parking lot where we both burst out laughing and hurried into his Bronco before my date and his very large best friend could catch up with us.
That was the last time I ever tried to make him jealous.
The Toast
When my book was released in 2004, I threw myself a huge party. I made it a mystery theme, had food, wine, prizes…it turned out to be a really nice event.
But what made it better than everyone showing up (I’d had nightmares no one would), was when a neighbor suddenly shoved Wayne in the middle of the room shouting, “Speech!” and put Wayne on the spot to say a few words.
Wayne can be a bit of a ham, but mostly he’s very modest and low-key. He’s not one to give rousing, impromptu speeches, but he was more than up for the task that night. I don’t remember any of his words verbatim, I just remember all of a sudden he was spewing my praises and declaring his love for me and how proud he was of my accomplishment. He said it with such passion and devotion he not only had me in tears, but almost every other woman in the room as well as a few of the men.
His speech was the hit of the party, and it’s made history in my heart as one of the most romantic things he’s ever done for me in our married life together.
Readers, It’s Your Turn!
Either leave a comment below or visit the forum’s thread to share your spouse’s top romantic gesture.
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