Monday, November 8, 2010

LOVE....

If you are friends with me on facebook, by now you already know what Chris did for me this weekend. Apparently he'd been planning a trip to Chicago since this summer! He left no detail out.... my name was even printed on the menu at the uber fancy restaurant where we dined for my birthday dinner.

Everything about the trip was amazing, but one thing in particular spoke more to me of Chris' love and care than anything else...

You all know that I love shopping, but not in the traditional sense... I love THRIFT shopping. I love the thrill of the hunt and the musty smell as you walk in the door evokes pure excitement. I love digging through people's discards to find the diamond in the rough, and even better is the feeling when you find the perfect thing that you didn't even know you were looking for! I don't know, if you aren't a thrift-er, you probably won't understand...but I love it. It's in my blood.

Chris knows this, but doesn't necessarily share the same passion. OK, maybe that's an understatement... let me say it like this...if he never had to step one foot into a thrift store in his entire life, he'd be happy. But he did... AND he walked TEN miles with me so I could do it. As we were walking and walking and asking for directions, and walking, my heart was so full I couldn't explain it. I felt LOVED. Don't get me wrong, he makes me feel loved all the time, but for some reason, I was at a loss for words in trying to tell him how much this meant to me. I hope he got it.

We found 3 stores, and one of the coolest vintage shops I've ever been to, I bought some great things... but that wasn't the highlight for me... it was the fact that he went with me. So, in total that day, we walked about 13 miles... dude, we walked a half marathon... I am still sore from walking that in flat boots with no support, and I think Chris pulled a hammy... but that's LOVE... He didn't complain, he even acted like he liked walking that far... which may have been true because we walked through some really cool parts of town, and we burned a bajillion calories, but he went with me and I felt so loved.

The whole trip was amazing, we hung out with friends, ate good food, talked a lot and rested... but for some reason, my heart was bursting at the seams on our 10 mile walk.

Ann Burton loved her son's heart, his thoughtfulness and tenderness. I was thinking about her while we walked...and I know that if she caught a glimpse of this from heaven, her heart was swelling with pride and love too.

5 comments:

Chelle said...

Oh sweet man. he just made a HUGE deposit in the love bank! Glad you had such a fun weekend.

pgwheeler said...

Chris came from good stuff for sure.
Glad you had a wonderful trip.

Kate said...

OK so even though you just told me this in person, reading it made me tear up! A loving marriage is such a gift. And its a wonderful encouragement to the people around you too!

The Mom said...

I was about to cry anyway because I was thinking about Ann and the boy who grew up to be such a fine man, and then you go and mention her at the end of the blog, and I am crying so hard I keep having to backspace to erase my misspelled words. So thank you and thank you. I guess I needed a good cry. And not to mention, I think Ann would be pretty happy and blessed with you, too, honey!

cindy said...

What a sweet post! You have been blessed not only with a great husband but also with the ability to appreciate it. Thank you for sharing this! I ENTIRELY understand the attraction for thrift shopping, it's like a treasure hunt.