Of Bound Leather And Inscriptions

Thoughtfulness occurs on many levels for many reasons and covers a multitude of subjects. I find myself to be thoughtful of and for others quite often, but my follow through can be lacking. Gotta work on that one.

But The Lawyer? Full of it. And by “it,” I do mean thoughtfulness AND follow through.

Case in point. (always fun to throw a teeny bit of lawyer jargon in there. It’s about all I’ve got) A week or two ago The Lawyer told me he got me something. Now, this phrase has reared it’s ugly head many, many times in our relationship. And by “ugly head,” I mean he KNOWS IT DRIVES ME CRAZY WHEN HE TELLS ME HE GOT ME SOMETHING BUT WON’T TELL ME WHAT IT IS.

This may have been the worst. Because he followed it up with, “this is the best gift I’ve gotten you. The most meaningful. The most thoughtful.”

Now I’m beside myself with wonder. And frustration. He won’t give me the slightest hint. Not even a genre. Not even a tracking number.

He’s been torturing me on the daily.

What ever could this be? He’s given me so many wonderful, beautiful, ever-so-thoughtful, meaningful gifts, I can’t imagine he could ever top anything he’s ever done.

Silly me.

Let’s time travel back just a little, shall we? {And for those of you who have watched what I’m about to bring up, you’ll appreciate my previous sentence 🙂 }

Just a couple short years ago The Lawyer and I were looking for something new to watch on the Netflix. We haven’t watched regular network TV in years, just series after series on streaming platforms. My clients are my source of reference, so I started asking. After a good several mentioned “Outlander,” I figured we should give it a try. It can be a tough watch, but if you can make it through, the story is epic. And beautiful. We have cried, laughed, watched so late into the night that we were holding our eyelids open with toothpicks to finish one more episode. We were totally hooked and waiting impatiently for new episodes to be released. The most beautiful love story, caught between two worlds, two centuries in time, difficult decisions, held together with unmistakable bonds of raw love.

Now let’s time travel a few years forward. The Lawyer tells me he has for me the most perfect gift. I have no doubt. He is the absolute best at being thoughtful and selecting perfection. He outdid himself for me this time.

Last week he told me, as he was torturing me with the taunt of a pending gift, that the gift should arrive next Wednesday when he returns from a business trip. I would be forced to wait. Ugh. This is madness. Nothing wears me out more than someone telling me they know something but not telling me what the something is. Just shoot me now.

So imagine my surprise when yesterday, four full days before the gift was to arrive, I walk into my chandelabra’d dressing room (ok, so it’s a closet with a mini chandelier he hung for me) to see a gold-wrapped package sitting on my stool. “What is that?” he mused. I was so surprised!

“Open it!” he said. So I sat and began to tear at the paper. Down to a cardboard box. Through the scotch tape. (He had opened it to make sure it was right before he gave to me). And there it was. Thoughtfulness in tangible perfection. A leather bound book. “Outlander.” A signed copy.

I was speechless.

I began to carefully open and turn pages. A certificate of authenticity that the author’s signature was, in fact, the author’s signature. Then the signature page. Then, the most important page of all. The page where The Lawyer inscribed a personal message to me. Perfectly penned. I couldn’t speak. Or blink. Or quit smiling. Perfection in leather bound form.

Now, you may be saying it’s just a book, and what’s the big deal? But to me it’s not just a book. It’s the effort. The thoughtfulness. The complete picture.

And the challenge to me to up my game. Not just to out-do. That’s never the goal. But to make sure I love as deeply, richly, thoroughly as I possibly can. To be mindful and follow through, not just think about it and let it go. I’ve a long way to go with that, but the best example lives with me and cares deeply for me, and shows me daily just how much he loves me.