To Be Where You Are

Jana generally gets home from work shortly after 4:00.  Just before 4:00 I had slipped out to run an errand.   When I pulled into the driveway the humpbacked van was securely parked, signaling Jana was home.

I called to her as I walked in the door but soon heard the bathroom fan indicating she was beyond hearing range so I sat back down at the computer in my office and went back to work.

Before long Jana came into the office and said, "Hello" in her after-work-and-I'm-happy-to-start-the-best-part-of-my-day voice.  She then just sat down on the white leather couch that sits in front of my work desk, laid down, shifted slightly and closed her eyes to take a nap.

It was just nice and made me feel warm knowing she just wanted to be in the same room with me.  I was working and not really conversant and she just wanted to take an afterwork nap.  But just being near can be a comfortable loving thing, with Jana curled up on the office couch saying, without speaking a word, "It's nice just to be where you are."
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Slumber Party

This weekend was my slumber party weekend with my daughter.  I had mentioned it to client on the East Coast yesterday.

I'm having a slumber party this weekend with my 28 year old daughter.  What are you doing this weekend?

I received a reply.

When I first read your email I read "slumber party" and then saw "28".  My first thoughts were, "28 girls at a slumber party"?  Then I reread it.  I'm headed to Nashville for the weekend.  Enjoy your weekend with your daughter.

The main feature of our agenda for the weekend was to watch the new BBC production of Jane Austen's "Emma".  We went to Albertson's to pick up some dinner food, had dinner and watched "Star Trek".  We finally were ready to begin watching Emma at 1:30 am.  We watched the first hour of the four hour epoch before turning in.  I love Chanel's little apartment.

Today, after a leisurely morning and a more than late breakfast we watched the other three hours of "Emma".  I quite enjoy Jane Austen and the view of the era she creates.

After stopping at the home of a workmate of Chanel's for an open house for her husband who just graduated from BSU, we finally arrived home at about 7:30 this evening.  Jana was her animated and joyful self.  She actually came outside to welcome me home as I brought in my overnight gear.  (Jana always chides me for taking more than I need when I go overnight anywhere.)

I love coming home to Jana. Her smile and constantly cheerful disposition is a loving thing. By nature she's a happy person.  She makes our home a loving place. 

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Kung Pau Camel

It's been a busy day, capping a busy week.  The day started with cleaning the church, followed by a list of projects (including mowing my lawn for the first time this year) that's kept Jana and I moving in asynchronous circles.

Just before leaving for a baptism service this evening I said to Jana,

"Can we do something tonight?"

"Yes. What did you have in mind?"

"How about doing something where we can just talk?  I don't feel like we've had any connection time this week."

I then suggested the Jade Garden restaurant and she readily agreed. I told her we'd go as soon as I got home.

When I got home from the baptism Jana was in watching the basketball game between West Virginia and Kentucky that would decide who went to the Final Four of March Madness.  (West Virginia, the underdog, ended up winning by 7.)  I went straight to the bedroom where I changed clothes.  I didn't want to wear a suit and tie but I still wanted to look nice.  I put my coat on, grabbed the checkbook and went into the TV room and said,

"I'm ready to go."

The significance of my getting ready, including having the keys in hand, is important as, in past history, I have been known to say, "Let's go" then take another 20 minutes changing clothes, shutting house windows and locking doors.  That tends to test Jana's patience.  So I wanted to be ready to walk out the door before I made my appearance.

We just prattled on the way to the restaurant.  When we got there and got our buffet Chinese meals we sat and prattled some more.  About Jana's work.  About Chanel's upcoming birthday.  About summer vacation.  About a slumber party Jana wants to have with Chanel.  About the wonderful weekend Jana spent with her sisters last week.  About our adventures of the day.   About everything.  About nothing.

It took us an hour and a half to just sit and eat and not eat and talk.

Jana's love language is quality time.  That means "being" and "doing" together.  No distractions.  No other interests.  Just the moment and the time.  When you think of it, it's really amazing that quality time doesn't really take that much time at all.  It takes attentiveness.  It takes hearing.  It takes sharing.  And I find it interesting that such a simple loving thing can so fully replenish our relationship. It's like giving a camel a little time to eat and drink, after which he can go for days with otherwise meager refueling.

Seems to me to be a pretty good investment of time.  So, as I sit here this evening, Jana is back in the TV room, now watching the news, and I sit here, jotting down a few lines.  And I feel replenished.

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Shoe Strings and Frozen Beans

Saturdays seem to be a premium around here.  With life being what it is it seems I get about two Saturdays a month to actually get things done on my personal list.  Everything has a season and I suppose the day will come when I wish I had something someone wanted me to do on a Saturday.  But for now, they're a little rare.

Of late Jana has been complaining of foot pain from her daily walking exercise.  Actually it's not from her walking; that actually takes her mind off the foot pain.  But her feet have been hurting her.  During the week I saw an ad in the newspaper from Big 5 Sporting Goods that had some walking shoes by Dr. Scholl's, a company known for its footcare products.  (A not so terribly interesting aside: when Jana and I were dating, my first post-mission job was at Big 5 Sporting Goods in California.)

Saturday morning I suggested we have a morning date so after she had showered we headed off for Big 5.  It is nearly legendary how little Jana likes shopping, but she was excited that morning.

Before we headed to the sporting goods store we made a stop at "Cash 'n Carry", a restaurant grocery supply store that we like to shop at periodically.  This stop was just for me.  We went to buy some frozen vegetables, which I eat a lot of.  For $8 we were able to buy two week's of vegetables.  (Did I mention our food budget has dramatically dropped since Arielle went to school?)

We got to the store and found the sale shoes.  They were regularly $70 and were on sale for $29.95.  At first we were concerned as they didn't have what Jana thought was her size.  She went ahead and tried on a pair that were half a size larger than she thought she was, but they fit like Cinderella's glass slippers.

At my insistence she walked around the store for awhile to make sure they didn't have any sore spots (she just wanted to buy 'n go).  Then we bought them.  The shoes she's been wearing are athletic shoes she bought with my son's help about 12 years ago.  By now the support is shot.

After we got home Jana put them on and wore them around the house as she went about her chores.  Later that afternoon she headed for the Rec Center for her 8 lap walk.  When she came home she pronounced the shoe-shopping date a success.

I'm finding I love spending time with Jana – doing just normal, unhurried things – more and more all the time.  Her love language is "Quality Time".  As we headed home from Big 5 she said, "This qualifies as 'love'.  Definitely three points."  Quality Time = a loving thing.  For both of us.

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Half Hours Strung Together

Jana had already left for work and I was changing clothes to head to the rec center.  The phone rang and I almost didn't answer it.  I dashed to the office and picked up the receiver.  It was Jana.  She'd only been to work for 15 minutes.

"I left my bag of chips for our work luncheon on the kitchen counter.  Would you like to bring it to me?"


"Sure.  I'm headed for the rec center.  I can drop it off in a few minutes."


"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to bring it at lunch time and we could eat lunch together."


"That would work, too.  I'll see you at lunch."

After the rec center I dragged myself home and worked for a couple hours before my computer alarm told me it was time to go to lunch.  I microwaved my vegetables and brown rice and headed for the hospital central billing office (CBO).

Jana met me with a smile as I walked up to the door and she took the bag of chips from me.

"I'll take this in and will be right back."

When she returned she asked,

"Should we go into the hospital cafeteria or just eat in the van?"

The van it was.

As we sat Jana told me about the visitors touring the CBO as part of the preparation for the sale of the hospital to another owner.  She shared stories about some of the interesting women she works with and the triumphs and trials they each face.

The half hour came and went very quickly and she needed to get back to work.  But it's the small moments and opportunities like these, taken, created, that carry us over the sorrows, disappointments and uncertainties and on to the quiet victories and joys that give meaning to mortality.  It's the half hours, strung together with loving things and bound by hope, that give joy to the journey.

I'm just grateful that Jana is my traveling companion.

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Connection Points

When Jana comes home from work she has a routine.  She grabs the mail out of the mailbox and brings it in with her; she sets her bag down and takes off her coat; she makes a pit stop; then she comes into the office where I work and plops down on the white leather couch that sits in front of my desk.  We then take a few minutes and just visit, generally about the day or how many accounts she processed or an interesting story or whatever comes to mind.  It doesn't really mater what.  It's a few minutes of decompression for her and connection for both of us. 

She will then sometimes go in and take a little nap before dinner.

Tonight, at about 5:30 (I generally work right up until dinner at 6:00), I heard Jana's voice float in from the bedroom,

"When did you eat lunch?"

"At about 2:30.  Oh, I know what that question means."

That question means "I'm just too comfortable here so do I really need to wrestle up some dinner?"  I was trying to finish up a project and get it emailed to a client before I finished my day.  I replied,

"Sweetheart, simple is just fine."

This past year I've changed my eating habits so that meals can be very simple.  Jana precooks the meats on Saturday so during the day I can just pull something out of the refrigerator and heat it up with a salad and veggies for lunch.  In a pinch this also makes preparing our evening meal just as simple.

I noticed a stirring in the bedroom but was focused on finishing my project.  Shortly Jana came walking into the office from the direction of the kitchen.  "Dinner's ready."  I took a few extra minutes to finish sending the project off through cyberspace and met her at the table.

Even though we don't have the kids' days to review any more Jana and I still always seem to have plenty of things to talk about at the dinner table.

After dinner I cleared the table and filled the sink (we still do dishes the old fashioned way) then headed for the bedroom to change clothes for my evening meetings.  When I came out Jana was just finishing up the dishes.  As I collected the notes and things I needed to take with me to my appointments Jana asked, "Would you like a hug?  And how about a kiss to go with it?"

"I'll never turn down a hug AND a kiss!"

It wasn't a "7 second, steamy glasses" kiss but it was just right.  And with that I was ready to slay dragons.

I'm so grateful for those little connection points each day.  They really don't take much time: ten minutes to decompress and reconnect, conversation over dinner, and a hug and a kiss before slaying dragons.  But they are the loving things: the things that make a relationship.  They are the things that remind us that life and love were meant to last beyond the sunsets.
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We May As Well Hold Hands

Today was Martin Luther King's holiday and Jana had the day off.  We decided to play so we arranged to meet Jana's sister in town to see the movie "The Blind Side".

Before leaving town Jana needed to drop something off at a friend's home.  When we got there I decided to go with Jana to the door just to say "Hi" before rushing off.  I left the engine running since we were going to be just a moment.

When we got back to the van I walked Jana to the passenger door and noticed it was locked, so I went over to my side to unlock it.  But my door was locked too.  We were locked out of our van with the engine running.

Jana thought she could ask her friend to give her a ride home, but then we realized that the house would be locked as well and the key was still in the ignition of the running van.  I called our neighbor and asked her if she had a key to our home and she didn't.

"Well, I guess I'd better call the lock shop."

A good friend of mine owns the lock shop and another friend is the office manager there so they teased me a bit when I called for their "professional services".  The manager said, "I've got one of the guys right here and I'll send him right over."

Great.  But by now we were running late on meeting Jana's sister at the theater.  I called her and told her our predicament.  She was already on her way to the theater to meet us but turned to go home until we called her back.

The lock shop wasn't very far away so I saw the familiar blue AAA-1 Lock and Key van turn the corner.  My friend, the owner, got out with a big smile on his face.  "What are you doing here?"  After joking with me for a moment he went around to the side door of his van and pulled out a bent wire with a hook on the end, came over to the passenger side of my van, reached the wire down into the door and, Pop!, the door was unlocked.

I followed him back to his van and said, "What do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it.  It's free today.  Have fun."  And then he left.

I went to the door of the home and told Jana, "We're ready to go."

"So soon?"

As we headed down the road I called Jana's sister back and told her we were on our way.  She turned around and headed back to the theater.  I apologized to Jana for goofing things up and causing the delay.  She never complained or even criticized me – or even made fun of me for that matter.  I'm not sure I would have had such restraint.

As we got out of our van to walk to the theater doors, Jana turned to me and said, "As long as we have these physical bodies we may as well hold hands."  She then reached over and took my hand.

We met Jana's sister in the theater and sat down in our seats just as the previews started.

Our time in these physical bodies is limited.  We'll have all kinds of little trials, inconveniences and learning experiences while we're here.  After all, we came here to earth to learn and these bodies are part of the lab equipment.  So I suppose the loving thing would be that, as long as we have these physical bodies, we may as well hold hands.
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Mulberry Street

A whirlwind of a weekend on the heels of the holidays has concluded with our depositing our youngest daughter safely at college.  Today concluded her second day of classes and based on her emails and a quick phone conversation she is enjoying her new life, her new friends, her apartment and even her professors.

As I've watched her grow over the past couple years I have seen an intelligent, funny, caring, aware, talented woman begin to take her place in the world.  I expect to see the rapid rate at which she continues to grow and develop to increase exponentially over this next semester.  Her confidence is already beginning to assert itself in her ability to confront and handle change and new circumstances.

This leaves Jana and I, tonight, concluding our second full day of empty-nestedness.  The house is quiet, even with Jana having taken off two extra days "just to settle".  She is a purposeful woman.  She attacks the day with a steady pace that moves her from one task to the next predetermined task without a moment of lost energy.

Arielle's bedroom is now spotless and dejunked, the "kids' bathroom" is scoured and Jana is ready to a pursue our next stage in life.

Jana is one of the most honestly cheerful people I know.  When she comes home from work it's like the whole house lights up.  She doesn't come home carrying the burdens of a "hard day at work".  She virtually bounces in the house, hangs up her keys in the kitchen, makes a pit stop then often comes in and bounces onto the couch that sits in my office directly in front of my desk.

"How was your day, sweetheart?" I ask.

"Oh, just fine.  I just plowed through my stack of patient accounts. And, oh, I have to tell you a story ..."

whereupon she relates an entertaining slice of life she had seen or overheard during the day.  When she comes home it's almost like rereading "To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street" by Dr. Suess.

Jana makes our home a bright, happy place; she is totally content with her life as she goes about making each day an adventure of simple pleasures and found joys.  The way she lives her life is, to me, a loving thing as she somehow decided long ago that life was meant to be enjoyed and adventure can be found in the dirt trap of a vacuum cleaner, on the faces of those she loves and in the 3/4 of a mile distance between home and where she works.

My daughter is starting a new and exciting life as she grasps the adventures of college.  It's beginning to settle in that I likewise get to start a new and exciting life as I grasp the adventures that await Jana and I in the simple things, the loving things, of our life.

Does anyone know of any upcoming adult education couples' classes on "Cooking for Two, Again"?
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A Romantic Day After Christmas

Arielle was born two days after Christmas.  It was pretty close to her due date but Jana wanted to make sure so she made an appointment for the day after Christmas to have her induced.  She was born the day after that.

So Arielle has the distinct advantage of making Christmas last for three days, ending with her birthday.  For this reason we generally leave our Christmas decorations up until New Year's.  But this year Arielle is headed to college on New Year's day so while Arielle was at work today Jana and I took down our Christmas decorations.  And actually we had a good time doing it.

It was fun working with Jana as we put things away for another year.  One by one the ornaments came off the tree.  I then hauled out the tree, leaving a trail of dried needles behind me.  Jana followed me out with a vacuum cleaner.  Cozy decorations and Santas and wooden crafty Christmassy things my mother and father have painted and made for us over the years found their way wrapped in garbage bags and laid in our two big Christmas bins to be transported to the garage and hoisted into the attic to await Christmas 2010.

I learned long ago that romance isn't really what the movies and songs suggest.  As Jana taught me many years ago, anytime I do something that lightens her load and communicates respect for her and the things she does I am being romantic.  This is why I can say Jana and I had a wonderfully romantic afternoon today, taking down and putting away our Christmas decorations.  Occasional glances and a touch here and there were really the only contact points, but working in the same room to the same end with Bing Crosby crooning in the background makes for a very romantic afternoon.  And that is truly a loving thing.

Now to pack up my daughter to deliver her to college.  Does anyone have a spare pillow case?
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A Gracious Christmas

Christmas night and we all just got home from a Christmas night movie -- "Blind Side".  So many loving things went on today.

This year was a different kind of Christmas for us.  We spent Christmas Eve night with my 28 year old daughter in her single bedroom apartment.  Kindly she let Jana and I sleep in her new queen-sized bed, which was o-so comfy with the comforter and fluffy pillows, while she slept on the floor in the living room and her sister slept on the sofa.  That definitely qualifies as a loving thing.

For the past nearly ten years we have drawn names for Christmas, pooled our combined Christmas money and each provided Christmas for the person whose name we drew, complete with Christmas stockings.  Only this year our youngest daughter is headed for college in one week, as a brand-new freshman, and she really needs first-time-on-your-own stuff for college life.  The solution was that, even though we each drew names again this year, each of us (except our college-bound daughter) were going to spend the money on her.  She knew nothing of the arrangement.

After spending the night at our other daughter's we made it home with Jana's mother to open gifts at our home.  It didn't take long before our youngest, who loves to save opening her presents to prolong the anticipation, kept urging others to open their gifts.  Well, we really didn't have many so we finally let her in on the secret.

She was shocked, surprised and, frankly, a little humbled at the thought.  It was just so fun for all of us to watch her open gift after needed gift.  She was simultaneously gracious and excited the whole time.

We had opened our stockings at my daughter's apartment.  I gave my wife the movie "Julie - Julia" which she loves and wanted.  That, coupled with the Reese's mini-bite peanut butter cups and the navel orange in the toe, was all that was in Jana's stocking.  I had her name this year.  The rest of my budget (along with everyone else's) went to our daughter.

Jana didn't receive another present for Christmas, according to our plan.  We did each receive some wonderful and thoughtful gifts from outside family members which was really fun.

Another part of our Christmas tradition was that we each need to make a homemade gift for the person whose name we drew.  After all the gifts were opened and photographed and appreciated, and we had finished stuffing the garbage bag with wrapping paper I said,

"Jana, I have one more gift for you."

and I pointed to our family picture wall.  One Christmas about 6 years ago I had Jana's name.  My homemade gift was a bunch of group picture frames for our wall.  I got the frames up and a couple photographs inserted, but due to time I never filled the picture holes.  My gift this year was to fill the rest of the picture holes for the frames.

Jana, in her sweet joy was totally excited, as if that was the only gift in the world ... which it pretty much was.  Her willingness to be slighted for Christmas for herself and her excitement about giving to our daughter was a loving thing on so many levels and for so many people.  I am so grateful for her graciousness, her giving heart, her finding joy in the simplest of gifts, her willingness to sacrifice for her family, continually, with such grace and joy.

It truly has been a Merry Christmas!
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A Spontaneous Rendezvous

I love spontaneous rendezvous's. They are like adding a little lemon pepper to a plate of otherwise delicious mixed vegetables, adding flavor and a little zing.

I was out running some errands this afternoon.  As I headed down our street toward our house I noticed that the clock in my car read "4:27".  My daughter is off work at 4:30.  So, without stopping at home I pulled a U-turn in front of our house and headed to my daughter's place of work to pick her up.

As she got in the car she asked where mom was.

"She's home.  I saw her van in the driveway but I didn't stop."

"Well, we were going to go to the bank in Albertsons to deposit my check then go shopping."

As we drove up the street with my daughter behind the wheel, we saw Jana's van pull to a stop on a side street, obviously headed to pick her up.  I rolled down my window and waved vigorously to make sure she saw us.  She did, then shrugged and held up her hands as if to say, "Hey, what's going on?"

"Mom needed to go to the bank at Albertsons as well so we'll just meet her there" offered my daughter.

We watched in the mirror to see if Jana would follow us.  She did.

We pulled into the Albertsons parking lot and got out of the car just as Jana pulled in nearby.  As I approached she was wearing her beautiful smile as I told her why I had picked our daughter up.  She then offered,

"Why don't we just swap cars and let our daughter come with me and you can go on home."

Great suggestion.  At first I thought she was just offering to relieve me so I could get back to work.  But then I thoought,

"Hey, I'll bet they want to buy me Christmas presents ... lots of Christmas presents."

So, with a knowing smile and  wink I said, "Sure.  Take your time."

I know it sounds silly, but I love meeting my wife in different places – unplanned, serendipitous places.  It's like a secret rendezvous.  I leaned into the window and gave her a kiss.  "I'll see you later.  Have fun."

A spontaneous rendezvous definitely qualifies as a loving thing.
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A Talking Hand

After a busy Sunday we had a young single adult fireside this evening.  Our speaker was Elder J. Craig Rowe, a member of the Quorum of the Seventy - a leader in our church.  Six years ago he served as our Stake President and I got to work fairly closely with him for a couple years.  He has also been a client of mine professionally.  (I even bought my lawnmower from him.  He was buying a new riding mower and sold me his Toro, which I've used now for 6 years.)

My after-church interviews were finished a little earlier today than they have been lately so I was home by 5:00.  I actually got to eat dinner with my family and then read a little before leaving for the 7:00 fireside.

The fireside was very enjoyable and I appreciated Elder Rowe's informal remarks and counsel.  It's always good to visit with him for a few minutes.

During the fireside Jana slipped her hand, palm down, just under my thigh and wiggled her fingers.  It's a little thing ... just a touch.  But it says a lot.  It says, "Hey, I'm here.  I like you.  I'm sitting next to you and want you to know that.  I am at peace.  God is in His heaven and all is right with the universe ... and all is right with me."

I think every couple develops their own simple ways of touching or nonverbally communicating contentment, love and peace.  This is just one of hers.  It is a loving thing.  It lets me know she's at peace in our relationship – that she loves me.  And that's always nice.
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Simple, Uncomplicated Loving Traditions

Thanksgiving is behind us and we're officially in Christmas Mode in our house.  I keep all our Christmas decorations in two large Rubbermaid® storage boxes.  I got them down a week ago so we could get started celebrating Christmas.

Aaron, Melanie and Morgan were in town over the Thanksgiving weekend and stayed with us at night.  On Saturday I got the lights out and said, "Morgan, let's go outside."  So he helped me put the Christmas lights up, at least as much as a 3 year old can help.  We had a number of things going on that day so I felt pretty good getting that much of our Christmas started.  (And I felt very good having spent some fun time with my grandson.)

Wednesday night I had interviews at the church.  As I left Jana commented, "We're putting up the Christmas decorations tonight."

Jana and I are not really decorative people.  Our home is simple, functional and, for us, comfortable.  A couple years ago the wife of a friend of mine commented, just in passing, "You being an artist, I'll bet your home is decorated beautifully."  (Needless to say, I've never invited she and her husband over.)

Our simple style extends to our Christmas decorations as well.  We have many traditional decorations we've collected over the years, many homemade, that we love to put up.  They bring warm memories.  Like the canning jar lids with simple Christmas bell shapes punched out with a hammer and nail hung on a piece of red ribbon and made by Aaron when he was in kindergarten.  Or the nativity set my sister made for us out of clay one year when she couldn't afford to buy gifts.  (The clay she used wasn't fired, rather just left to dry and harden.  The characters, cute as they are, are very brittle.  We have hot-glued legs, arms and donkey ears many times over the years but still gingerly bring them out again each year as part of our Christmas decoration traditions.  My sister died three years ago and the meaning of her nativity set is even more dear now.)

Even so, our simple, family decorations are precious to us.

I haven't been home many evenings for the past couple weeks so Jana decided Wednesday evening would be a good night to set things up. When I got home at about 10:00 our house had magically turned into Christmas.  I looked around and saw the familiar decorations, each with their story, and it felt like home, like Christmas, like love.

I love the simple, uncomplicated joys that Jana finds in our life.  She is just the right match for me.  Her decorating Christmas with Arielle, and turning our home into a warm, loving, peaceful and happy place, not just during Christmas but every day, is a wonderous thing ... a loving thing.

So I'll glue the leg one more time back on the clay camel and stretch another holiday season out of my sister's precious nativity set.  And I'll be truly and simply happy.

P.S.  Can you find the 8 nativity sets on our mantle?

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I'm the Luckiest

My oldest daughter, Chanel, was here this weekend and introduced Jana into the world of iPods.  She had an older iPod she was willing to lend Jana so she can listen to her favorite music.  The two of them sat in front of one of our computers sampling a huge file of music that Chanel has so Jana could select her own special mix.

In the end Jana had selected 150 songs for her personal playlist.  In addition to a huge number of classical selections and showtunes Chanel had made some suggestions of songs that Jana did not know, but which she knew my wife would love.

Since this weekend I have found Jana, at night before going to bed, sitting in our wingback bedroom "reading chair" with her head plugged into the iPod, eyes closed, blissfully conducting a room filled with silence.

As I sat here at my computer this evening preparing to write tonight's post, pajama-clad Jana came in.

"You have to listen to this.  This is one of the songs Chanel suggested I add to my list. I wish you had written it."

Before we were married I used to write and perform music.  I think it may have been one of the things that caught Jana's attention when we were getting to know each other while co-directing a play production.  I had written one of the songs for the play and one evening, backstage, I played a few of my songs for her.  Later I wrote a couple for her as our relationship continued to grow.

The song Jana wanted me to hear is a beautiful song, "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds.  I was familiar with it and enjoyed plugging into the iPod while Jana silently watched me listen, a faint satisfied, giving smile in her countenance.

Her simple comment, "I wish you had written it", was a loving thing to me because it meant the message and emotion of the song made her think of me.  I don't sing or write as often as I used to.  But lately I have pulled out my old guitar, dusted it off, tuned it up and, usually late at night, have played alone in the bedroom.  Jana came in the other night while I was playing and said, "I love to hear you play again."

Just maybe I will.

Click to listen for yourself.




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IF YOU WOULD, PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO COMMENT ON ONE OF THE LOVING THINGS, SMALL OR GRAND, THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED FROM SOMEONE IMPORTANT TO YOU.

A Phone Call at Lunch

Jana and I have a slightly different living/working arrangement.  Jana works in a medical billing office a mile away.  I work at home.  I work in front of my computer all day and she works in front of hers.

At about 1:10 today, right after her lunch break, I received a phone call from Jana.

"Hello."

"Well, Hi."

"What are you doing?"

"Just sitting here staring at my computer."

"Well, I just wanted to call and say 'Hi'.  So, 'Hi'.  That's all."

That brief interchange was followed by some mushy remarks.  But, during the day, it feels nice to be thought of.  It doesn't take long at all.  It doesn't have to convey stories or events or requests or assignments or ... anything.  Just to know that the one you love is thinking about you is often enough.  It makes their homecoming an event to be anticipated.  And when Jana got home from work, after first doing some grocery shopping, you bet a smile teased at my face when I saw the familiar green van pull into the driveway.  And you bet I went out and helped bring in the groceries.  And you bet I gave her a hug once we set the bags down on the counter.

And it was enough.  A phone call.  A small thing.  A loving thing.
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IF YOU WOULD, PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO COMMENT ON ONE OF THE LOVING THINGS, SMALL OR GRAND, THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED FROM SOMEONE IMPORTANT TO YOU.