While I Was Out

DH and I just returned from our anniversary cruise. It has been 10 wonderful years since I was blessed to marry this wonderful man, and I wouldn't give him up for the world. I don't think I write here enough about what a great man I've had the good fortune to marry, but this will demonstrate, once again, why I love him so much!

We got home from our trip late on a Sunday night. We had made arrangements for the kids to stay where they were for that night, knowing it would be a late night for us, and not knowing if we might end up with airport delays on the homebound flight. We walked in and started putzing a little bit - checking the mail, checking e-mail, feeding cats, a little unpacking, that sort of thing. After a while, DH started encouraging me to head up to bed, saying he would close up.

Well, I found a few more things to putz with, and again he pushed me towards bed. Finally, I headed upstairs, and this is what I found:


Of course, none of you (well, maybe Kari) has seen my bedroom as it was previously decorated. It was OK, but nothing thrilling. I am not one of those who has a decorator's touch, and I had never gotten around to selecting curtains. We had planned for years to repaint the bedroom, but that project was constantly relegated to the "later" stack.

This was DH's anniversary gift to me. He made arrangements with a decorator and painter to redo our bedroom for me while we were on vacation. They did an amazing job! I love the color of the walls, and I never would have thought to put the gold with the green, but it makes it feel so rich and warm to me. Most of the items are ours, rearranged and improved, with a few new accent items, like the lamps, bedspread and curtains.

They also made a lovely arrangement of pictures in the corner - the large oval is a c. 1918 photograph of my grandmother and her sisters as children, while the other three b&w shots are of my grandparents, DH's grandmother, and my great aunt. It made me cry.

The best part of it all was what you see on the breakfast tray. DH wrote me the most beautiful letter I have ever read. He put his heart into it, and I have never read anything so wonderfully written. He told me that this "While You Were Out" makeover was something he had been thinking of for years, taking notes on what I liked, planning for a sanctuary for me. Every time I read this letter, I still cry. I am trying to convince him to let me post it here, because I think it needs to be shared, and I am so proud of what he wrote.

You can't tell very clearly here, but there is a faux finish on the bathroom walls, new window treatments and a new shower curtain. The brighter color really makes this room feel huge!

DH was so nervous on the way home from the airport, and now I knew why. He had admitted to being jittery, but attributed it to being wired from the long day of travel. In actuality, he realized that once I saw the room, he would either win husband of the year, or be spending the next month in the doghouse (and we don't even have a dog!) He needn't have worried - I love the final result!

DH gives me more credit than I deserve, and downplays his importance in my life. I could not travel this road without him by my side, sharing the burden and helping me laugh when things seem darkest. Not many men would have stood by through everything that happened after my mom's death (not to mention, shoveled cat poop out of the hallway). Not many men would have chosen this adoption and fostering path with me. Not many men would have succeeded the way he has - he is one of the FASD success stories, and I am so proud to have him as my husband. I love you honey!