GIRAFFE PANCAKES
On Saturday Athena asked me if I would like to have pancakes or scones for breakfast. I chose pancakes.
As I read the morning鈥檚 paper, Athena and Ashton were busy in the kitchen, making a special meal for me. Athena whipped up the batter and Ashton helped her by emptying out the cabinets.
When it was time to sit down for the meal I got a wonderful surprise. Athena made a giraffe pancake for me. She recently learned from my mom that I always asked for my pancakes to be shaped like a giraffe when I was a young boy. My mom isn't that artist so she said she always offered to make a really good sun or moon instead.
I was so delighted at Athena's effort to make a special pancake just for me. Honestly, it looked like more like a horse than a giraffe but I couldn't have been happier.
Blissful relationships don't revolve around grand romantic gestures. Fancy jewelry, exotic fur coats, limousine rides and roses delivered to the office are nice tokens, but anyone with money can try to BUY love. And certainly far too many people purchase these items in order to impress others or as a payoff for being such an insensitive jerk the rest of the time. I'm not trying to put down nice presents, but if they are the sole means of expressing your love then you are missing out on something really special.
When Athena and I were first married I bought her all sorts of things -- jewelry, clothes, cards and trinkets. I thought that the more gifts I gave her and the more money I spent would show her how much I loved her. While she truly appreciated the gifts, I realized later on that what came out of my bank account didn't matter nearly as much as what came out of my heart.
Now I try to express my love to Athena more by my actions than by my purchases. More by my words than by my wallet.
As the saying goes, the little things are what keeps a marriage strong and makes it blissful. Good-bye kisses and welcome home hugs. Calls in the middle of the day. Holding hands during the movie. Dinner at home over candlelight. Walks on the beach. Sharing your dreams. Notes on the bathroom mirror. Baking cookies together and of course... giraffe pancakes.
Michael Webb is a world renowned relationship and romance expert having appeared on over 500 radio and television shows. He and his wife have been blissfully married for over 13 years. |