This topic is an offshoot of my editor’s blog, which got me thinking. The question is: what is a gift of romantic love that you received which others would not think is romantic?
My husband is really good about giving me flowers and jewelry. He goes above and beyond, which maybe I take for granted. Though those gifts are memorable, here’s a non-romantic gift that really touched me.
A few years back, when I decided to try writing seriously, I entered a Harlequin contest called Round Writing Robin. (I don’t think they do it any more.) One of Harlequin’s authors would write the first 1,000 words, and contestants could submit an entry of 1,000 words for the next scene. So I wrote up an entry and sent it in about 1 minute before midnight (the deadline), because I had to agonize over it. That was Wed. night. Imagine my surprise and delight when, first thing Friday morning, I had an email telling me I’d won that week’s competition. This little win was my first affirmation that a professional liked my work.
What my husband did was to frame not only my entry, but also the comments from all the other contestants/followers who had, for 2 weeks, played an enthusiastic guessing game about who had won (I wasn’t allowed to tell) and saying nice things about my entry.
Today, I wouldn’t have those nice comments if he hadn’t made that effort. Now there may be women who’d rather have the Hope diamond, I don’t know. But for me, that was truly a gift from the heart.
Does anyone else have a gift that truly touched them, but might not seem romantic to the world?
8 comments:
I'm a big fan of edittorrent as well :)
That was a wonderful gift you received. Congrats again, and good luck in the future.
Leona
Carly, this is a beautiful story. I'm going to link to it from the edittorrent blog.
Theresa
Carly, this is a great story and woot! Shout out to editorrent.
For Christmas, my boyfriend of only a few months gave me a set of cleaning cloths for my car - one for the leather and one for everything else. And better yet, they were MacGuire's, my preferred brand. I was touched that he realized how much I love my car and didn't feel weird about giving me something I truly would enjoy and use. He also included shaped Post-It Notes, two writing journals, a video game I'd been eyeing and a sweet snowman basket that had the word "Believe" stitched into it. Believe is my motto and he certainly made a believer out of me.
Leona, Thanks. They have a great site.
Theresa, Thank you!
Jennifer, the gift of car cleaning cloths definitely fits the category of "not romantic to all". lol But it's sweet that he put so much thought into everything. He was paying attention to know you so well after only a few months.
My husband really isn't a roses and jewelry kind of guy (unless heavily prompted) but he does non-romantic things often that show he does care. Your story reminds me of him--he doesn't really give a lot of vocal support to the writing thing, but he did once frame a second-place contest finish certificate as a surpise for me. He hung it right in the living room :) It was so cute because it was just a small chapter contest--no big deal, really. The fact that he did that was actually more meaningful than the contest final to me.
That was truly a thoughtful gift from your husband.
My birthday was yesterday, but a week ago my boyfriend warned me the gift would be late. It hasn't arrived yet and he's being very secretive about it. I have the distinct feeling he's enjoying my impatience. I can't wait to find out what it is.
Bethany, it is definitely the thought that counts, and the way they understood that the event, though small, was still a milestone to us.
Casey, now you're torturing me! You can come on the blog any day and tell us what he gave you and I hope you will. I see all the responses even if it's not my blog.
Carly, flowers aren't an unromantic gift, but the way they were delivered was unusual. I was following a boyfriend home one day in my car. He was not the romantic type or one given to romantic gestures. We were in a left-turn lane waiting at a red light. His truck was in front of my car. One of the guys selling flowers on the street was on the curb. I saw him talking to my BF. Next thing I know, he's walking to my car, hands me the flowers, and says, "they're from the guy in that truck up there." LOL I loved that gesture!
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