Sweet

Some girls want diamonds. 

Some girls want extravagant gifts and designer labels. Some want flowers or expect long prose of adoration (I’d settle for a Haiku, honestly). But me? I’m a low maintenance girl (oh be quiet, I am so). 

Case in point: The single most romantic gesture from my husband, the Carpenter, that meant more to me than all of the above was surprising me with a gift that has become a tradition of the Easter season: a Cadbury Creme Egg.

You may be wondering how someone could be surprised by a tradition linked to an annual holiday. If you have to ask, you’ve clearly not been in a long-term relationship. 

The secret to keeping the romantic spark alive is to never, ever expect the other to remember the silly traditions and instead, be totally surprised when your person remembers to remember those silly traditions. This is one of the pillars to a solid relationship. 

Saturday night, when the full day’s events had concluded, we settled in to watch a television show or movie and play our weekly (read: daily) game of who can stay awake to the end of the show. 

Well, okay, full disclosure: the negotiation over what to watch can become a tiresome game of back and forth. The roles of this discussion could be performed by either one of us on any given night. What do you want to watch? I don’t care, you pick. No you pick. Whatever you want to watch is fine. Oh, but not that. Too weird. Too violent. Too sappy. Too slow. Too long. We’ve already watched that. 

This ends with the resolution that with so many shows to choose from, there is nothing much on. British detectives? Okay, deal. 

I like to believe this plays out in living rooms across Wellington County every Saturday night with others in my demographic. I no longer see this as boring. This evening of relaxation is our reward for keeping up with life. 

It’s a blessing to be cozy with someone who is good with comfortable silences, simple entertainment and early bedtimes. 

And to remember the simple joys, like spontaneously handing their person a Cadbury Creme Egg right before the show started. I let out a yelp of joy. I love Cadbury Creme Eggs. One a year is my max now. Okay, maybe two, but that’s it. I can’t handle the sugar overload like I used to. 

But that’s not the point of this moment.

It’s not the thing, it’s the thought. It’s the silly little everyday or most-day gestures that you do for your person that say, “Hey, I was thinking of you and I knew you’d love this.”

It’s not even about a tradition around a holiday. It’s simply that your person remembered and honoured it and, by doing so, honoured you. Love is really that simple. And yes, I bought him a bag of foiled wrapped eggs last weekend. 

What?  I’m not a monster. I also like giving the Carpenter sweet surprises. And candy makes him happy. He’s a low-maintenance fella. 

Love isn’t complicated. Kindness isn’t hard. Your person deserves both. So do you. Bonus points if you  say it in a Haiku. Just sayin’. 

Happy Easter to you and your people.