My hubby has a few idiosyncrasies (Let’s face it, don’t we all!)
For someone who is extremely adaptable and loves to learn new skills, Let’s just say he likes certain things done a particular way.
Take his favourite supper – tomato on toast – for example.
Every one I know cuts tomatoes like this.
But in his world, everyone should cut tomatoes like this (and those who don’t obviously just don’t know the right way yet.)
Then there’s the toast itself. It has to be buttered right away. And I mean immediately. If the toaster pops and you run to the drawer to grab a knife, you’ve missed the window.
Im proud to say I’ve finally mastered the technique. At the first whisper of the pop, you pounce on the toast like it’s your prey and lather it with butter before it has the chance to lie thick on top. Soaked in my friends, it must be soaked in.
And here’s the ultimate toast test. Once buttered, Does that bread bend? If not, and it breaks in half, you’re doomed to witness a crestfallen expression and a drawn breath of disappointment. If it pleases his majesty, there’s a beaming smile and a sigh of satisfaction.
Every time Bill asks me to make him tomato on toast, I have a wee chuckle to myself. I used to get exasperated; I’d take toast whatever way it comes. But ten years of marriage has changed that. We all have the little things that mean a lot when people do them for us. The things that make us feel cherished, valued and important.
Maybe you’re like me and an unexpected home-made meal or an extra hour in bed means the world.
Perhaps it’s a bowl of steaming hot porridge made with love each morning.
It could be someone offering to pay for your lunch.
Or a friend thoughtfully remembering about that job interview and asking how it went.
A word of encouragement and support when you do something out of your comfort zone might be your greatest gift.
Why not ask your family, your friends and your spouse what little things make them feel the most loved? And when you find out, commit to doing those things for a week? You might just see that person come all the more alive when they feel cherished by you.
I know I’ll be making tomato on toast Bill’s way for many more years to come. Just because sometimes the little things really are the big things.
To love and to cherish, from this day forward.
H x
Looking for Eden 