When a man is in a permanent relationship for what seems like forever, in our case, almost 21 years, he gets comfortable in a natural routine. Go to work, come home, make dinner, catch up on the daily news and each other’s day while apart (in my case, I work in an office all day and my spouse is retired, and at home.)

The “settled routine” is comforting, but does not lend itself to romance… much.

However, last night was an example of how much my spouse truly cares and loves me. Let me begin by recounting my day, that led to a wonderful romantic surprise when I got home.

I left the house at my usual oh-dark-30 (really, more like 5am) and got to the office for an early start. I had great plans to catch up on work that had backed up since I was out of the office all last week.

Those plans were quickly dashed when my boss’ boss came to see me at 6:30. A series of meetings and “short-fuse taskers” followed. My boss arrived soon thereafter and both of us were engaged in solving some problems that had cropped up and saving the world… well, at least within our sphere of influence. My boss and I were pretty much glued to the hip until he had to go to other meetings at another location off site. He asked me to run our section’s staff meeting in his stead.

Got through that, then a slog of more demands relayed by email. Worked solidly through lunch and the remainder of my day.

I was able to get out of the office close to my regular departure time, but I still had work to do. I went to a senior pal’s home to replace a faulty light switch. That repair did not take too long, and I offered to fix an electrical outlet that was not working. However, my friend could see that I was very tired and pretty much ordered me to go home and come back another time to fix the outlet.

I thanked her, gathered my tools, and climbed into my truck. The skies were gray and gloomy, portending another storm of some sort on the way. Traffic was slow. I was dead tired; I just wanted to get home.

As I was driving home, I was mulling over what to prepare for dinner. I had forgotten to get something out to thaw from the freezer, so I was struggling to think of what I could prepare to meet my spouse’s weird rabbit-food diet and yet provide something edible for me, too. (I don’t do rabbit food.)

I pulled my truck into the garage just as it was getting dark. I went out to get the mail, since my spouse doesn’t like to go out when it is cold. I found the usual junk mail, political stuff, a county notice about a vacant leadership position for which the County Council was recruiting, and put most of that stuff in the recycling bin. I trudged into the house.

Usually, my spouse is in our family room when I arrive home. However, this time, he was standing in the kitchen holding a card for me. I noticed that he had set the table and that he had prepared garden salads for both of us. A pot of water was boiling on the stove.

After giving me a hug & kiss hello, he asked me to read the card. I am a sucker for such “Hallmark moments.” The card expressed his love for me, and appreciation for how I arranged care for him while I was gone — in particular, preparing many home-cooked meals that I put in the freezer, so all he had to do was heat them up and have a nutritious meal (as well as my brother, sister-in-law, and senior pal who were all staying in our house while I was away on travel.)

I sniffled and smiled. He gave me another hug, then walked over to the place where I sit in the kitchen and said, “please have a seat. Dinner is ready.”

This is a big deal — my spouse is a wonderful man, but a cook he is not.

He had prepared ravioli for our dinner. Okay, we made the ravioli together a few weeks ago and it had been frozen. But the thought of him going to the trouble to prepare dinner for me, instead of the other way around, was wonderful.

We enjoyed a nice meal, smiled, and talked — about life, our love, and our feelings.

After dinner, I changed clothes to soft “grungies”, then retreated with my spouse to our basement. We kept the television off and instead, listened to music that we both like. We snuggled and just held one another. Few words were spoken, but the love we felt holding one another spoke volumes.

Life is short: show those you love how you love them.