Surviving over 20 years of marriage is quite a feat, especially in this day and age.
We’ve definitely moved past the stage of wrecking our brains for that perfect gift and now it’s usually just a dinner date or a sort-of celebrated early meal for practicality, with the entire family.
We’ve been through so many ups and downs, and many years, when we were mired in difficulties and fighting for survival, this day passed just like any other ordinary day.
Somehow, we pulled through the worse, the poorer and the sickness and there were some lovely better, richer and healthy times we shared.
We’ve definitely moved past the stage of wrecking our brains for that perfect gift and now it’s usually just a dinner date or a sort-of celebrated early meal for practicality, with the entire family.
We’ve been through so many ups and downs, and many years, when we were mired in difficulties and fighting for survival, this day passed just like any other ordinary day.
Somehow, we pulled through the worse, the poorer and the sickness and there were some lovely better, richer and healthy times we shared.
The best present from the hubs?
This wasn’t during Valentine’s but it was the sweetest gift ever.
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About a decade ago, the hubs booked a trip to Milan and he thought why not visit Venice as well. I’ve been to Italy a couple of times and wasn’t particularly excited to go back to Milan and Venice. I was a huge Angelina Jolie fan then (no judgement please) and loved The tourist. I saw a confirmation slip on my table and couldn’t believe he had booked Hotel Danieli, the hotel where Angelina Jolie stayed in the show!
That was surely my highlight of the entire trip, not only walking the same carpets and stairs but discovering that the hotel was once home to a wealthy noble family. The 14th century palace has been beautifully preserved, and roaming around the halls, I could imagine the lavish parties and the little princesses running along the corridors. (one tiny disappointing reality was, that BOAT ENTRANCE in the movie was not real!)
The hubs is no Angelina Jolie fan, and he would much prefer a newer, modern hotel which would cost way less, so that was really sweet of him.
And the worst present? Or should I say, the present with the most mis-matched expectations?
This was many years back, long before we had apps on our phones. The hubs was all excited and he said, “Come! Come outside! See what present I got for you!”
Wah, from his earnestness, I thought it must be something really nice.
He led me to the car, opened the door and tada!
I was baffled. “Er, where’s the present?”
“There. The navigator! Isn’t it great?”
The navigator??! Why would I want the navigator for a present? I mean, c’mon! How could a GPS even count as a present!!
He saw my OH expression, and went on. “It’s not just any old GPS. It’s the authentic navigation system that I got fitted. You are always getting lost. Isn’t this most useful for you?
At that point in time, I wished he had spent his money on something else. Anything else. A good book would have been greatly appreciated.
Anyway, it was months later that it dawned on me that indeed, the GPS turned out to be indispensable and those frustrating days of going round and round in circles getting lost were over!
Beyond these thoughtful surprises, it is the everyday things he does that show his love for us.
Do I get annoyed at him?
Of course. And vice versa. But isn’t it better to focus on the good instead of the irks? Because what you focus on grows.
It is in the ordinary, the mundane, the struggles, the victories, that a contented life is built. The extras, the gifts, the vacations, they are but high bleeps in the big scheme of things. For me, it’s not the extraordinary that dazzle. But the everyday moments that matter.
About MummyWee
Michelle is an Occupational Therapist by day and mum of 6 by night. Besides the already very demanding job of managing 5 teenagers and one 6-turning-16 tween, she is also Founder of The Little Executive, a nurturing centre to develop children in their 4Qs to survive today’s volatile world. She also makes time to volunteer with children and the elderly in her community.