simple things

Having your hunny wake you up every morning with kisses is not a bad way to start each day. We have very little in the materialistic sense, but we do have each other. And when it comes to gift giving we really are those people that make cheesy coupons, write poetry, or paint pictures for one another. Seriously, when I proposed I had taken a pack of kindergarten writing paper and wrote the Story of Us on it. I had it laminated/bound and the last page of the story had "please check yes or know if you'd like to spend the rest of your life with me." The illustrations looked like I had a kindergartner draw them but she checked yes anyway. However, I did pull out an actual ring and not one from the gumball machine. She told me she would've said yes even if I had only spent 25 cents.
One of the best dates we ever went on was just recently when I picked up a cheap pack of water colors, two canvases, and found a pull-off along the Blue Ridge Parkway to just sit and paint. Mine of course makes Picasso's work look decipherable, but those simple canvases will always hang on our wall and be more valuable than any artwork we could ever purchase.
It's really all about spending time with each other versus spending money. Don't get me wrong, neither one of us would ever turn down a date to the mall, but the effort put into a simple handwritten note or a carefully drawn stick figure has become invaluable to me.
We often find ourselves taking little day trips usually no further than thirty minutes away from home. We'll take back country roads and spend a few hours snapping pictures of dilapidated barns or old homesteads that are long forgotten. I like to believe that us visiting those places lets the crooked doors and windows know that they are still appreciated. Life continues to breathe throughout their neglected cracks if only in our picture taking.
Or like today it was absolutely gorgeous so an impromptu picnic at the local park was perfect. We had ham sandwiches (she even put the mustard on mine in the shape of a smiley face) and a small bag of chips to share. There was no fancy wine, cheese, or picnic basket. It was just totally simple and totally perfect.
Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but now I understand what it means when people say that it's the little things that mean the most. When I would hear that I just thought old people were crazy and they were supposed to say weird things and sound like walking farmer's almanacs. But now I get it and sometimes in life all we really have to give one another is time or words.