{ The art of Surprise }

I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder..." wake up, sweets" he whispered.
The room was the pitch dark. My head felt fuzzy and I wondered if I had dreamed the alarm clock had just gone off. And wait. It feels like the middle of the night. He handed me a warm jacket. " Here put this on and come with me, " he said softly. I followed him sleepy and puzzled as he lead me out, his arms heaped with blankets and pillows, through the dining room towards the back door. I made a quick glance at the clock as we ducked out the door...it blinked back at me 2:10 am? My foggy brain could not fathom what might happen next.Earlier in the day, with a twinkle in his eye as he announced to me. " I've got a surprise for you. " Of course my curiosity immediately peaked..." is that so? well, when do I get it? can I have it now?" The answer was no, not now, later. Surprises make me want to stand on my head. The minute I become aware that a surprise exists I cannot stop wondering...and I always try and guess. And then I usually start begging for hints and being obnoxious in general, hoping to pry some sort of clue out of him.
When bed time rolls around, he reminds me of my surprise, just to taunt me. I am so curious I have a hard time falling asleep and he refuses to give me any hints. Finally, after much nagging, he assures me that I cannot have the surprise until after I have gone to sleep. This tiny bit of information only makes me wonder all the more at what the surprise might be.
Holding my hand tightly in his own, I follow him through the back yard up to the middle of the big grassy flat part of our acre long lawn, where he lays down the blankets and pillows and instructs me to get cozy. The grass is wet with dew and there is a bit of a nip to the night breeze so I jump under the blanket and snuggle into his side. Then we are nose to nose. Suddenly I feel a rush of excitement and wide awake. " Is this my surprise?" I gasp. " Look up." He answers. We both face the diamond studded blackness of the night sky. " This is your surprise. We going to watch an actual, real, live meteor shower. " For the next half hour we scanned the sky for falling stars. And we saw 6. Three of which were great big, beautiful ones that took their pretty time in falling. I was awestruck. Not only by the fact that the dark night had enveloped us and it felt like at any minute parts of the sky my fall down in a shower of beauty and light around our heads but I was in awe of the incredible thoughtfulness behind the plotting of this surprise. Talk about romantic. I kept thinking to myself, this is really happening. It's not an excerpt from a Nicolas Sparks novel. It's for real. He's for real. I felt giddy and girlish. " This is probably going to go down in history on my list of most favorite surprises ever," I say. Our heads are together and I can tell he's smiling. I think to myself, part of what contributes to making this such an amazing moment is knowing how much he normally hates having having his sleep interrupted. He hates it almost more than anything else in the world. And yet he set his alarm for 2 am, to be able to share this exact moment together. We've been married for 5 years. We are so secure in each others love. He doesn't have to but he still wants and chooses to pursue me. And I promise I could not feel more cherished, treasured, or adored than I do by this man. This simple act spoke volumes to me. It inspires me to want to grow in my ability to love others more creatively. It was the kind of surprise you would never in a million years guess. One more way to say " I love you. Even at 2 am. Especially at 2 am. And I'll gladly gave up sleep to spend this moment in time, making a memory with you. "
And when I am a little old lady I'll think back on this night under the stars and remember how much this man loved me, and not because I necessarily deserve this kind of love either, because truthfully I don't, it's more like he loves me this much, because he just plain can't seem to help it.
Whoever said a fancy dinner, and a box with something shiny in it or a dozen roses, chocolate truffles and a Hallmark card, ( although I am those things never hurt ) defines romance anyway?
And I know exactly what you are thinking, I am so blessed. And to that I say, " you're not kidding! "
And then I hope your very next thought is. Me too Lord. Oh, me too.