Share one of the best gifts you've ever received.
It was 15 years ago.
My husband and I had been married for one year. Our first anniversary date loomed on the horizon; and I wondered how my new husband would approach this milestone. After all, this was a second marriage for both of us and one that happened late in life. To be fair, I was not expecting hearts, flowers, and violins. We are a pragmatic sort.
A few weeks before our anniversary, I got a strange call from a very good friend of mine. We were chatting normally as we would do, when she nonchalantly asked me about the colors in my bedroom. I found her query curious because she had been in my house multiple times and had, in fact, been in my bedroom. So, of course, I asked her about the question. I don’t remember the exact excuse she gave for wanting to know, but it must have made sense, because I just shrugged it off.
Cut to the actual anniversary day. Mark and I had a beautiful dinner together and made our way home to enjoy a quiet evening. We decided to open our presents after dinner. I don’t even remember what I got my husband. I am sure it was way cool. But I do absolutely remember his gift to me: a gorgeous down comforter. I let my husband know how much I loved it and he asked me what I thought of the color. I looked again and realized the color was a rich mocha. I remarked on the beauty of that color. He then asked me if I had noticed how well it went with the colors in our bedroom.
I should probably mention now that my husband is color-blind, so again I was curious at the question.
I validated for him that while the comforter did, in fact, match our bedroom colors, I really hoped we could find a duvet cover to match. His face demonstrated confusion and I realized that he did not know about duvet covers. I explained to him that because down comforters cannot stand up to the laundering as often as other blankets; it is important to cover them with a duvet cover.
His puzzled face turned to one of disappointment, as he explained that he had been searching for weeks to find a quality down comforter in the mocha color. He did not know that the color of the comforter was irrelevant. He had just wanted to put some effort into getting something special. I reassured him that just the fact that he took so much time to search for the perfect color, made the gift so much more special to me. The thought leading to the effort (even dragging my friend into it) was the true gift and one I will never forget.
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