December is my favorite time of year to check the mailbox, because I adore Christmas cards! Every day I watch for the mail truck to come down the street, and I rush to greet it. A couple of years ago, I found instructions on how to make a wreath that also serves as a Christmas card holder. The moment I saw it, I knew I wanted to make it. The instructions seemed simple enough, and I already had all the necessary supplies. I got to work quickly, but it didn’t take long for me to realize I was in over my head. Perhaps this would be a good time to confess that while I like to think I am crafty, I don’t necessarily have great crafting skills. For example, the instructions required spray-painting clothespins and, well, I had no experience with spray paint. I also wasn’t aware of how physically challenging it was (for me) to bend a wire hanger into an exact circle.
Not long into the project, I enlisted the help of my husband!
Jason gave me a lesson in spray-painting and helped me figure out what tools would be best for bending the wire. Collaborating on this wreath with him was enjoyable but lengthy. One night, when he was at work, I texted to ask him about our project, because I was getting impatient and assumed I could complete it without him. He quickly texted back, “Don’t touch anything until I get home.” That sounds like a command or a derogatory statement, but it wasn’t. I laughed out loud as I could hear his caring and kind tone come through in those written words. He lovingly asked me not to do anything, because he knew I wouldn’t be able to complete it without harming our wreath or myself. When he arrived home at midnight, I was awake waiting for him. We stayed up late working on the wreath together. We were both laughing hysterically as I held it in place while he secured the circle.
Now that Christmas cards are starting to arrive daily, I love displaying them on that wreath we made seasons ago. I find myself staring at it, looking first at the families represented by the cards but then examining the wreath itself. I can’t help but feel romanced just looking at it. In fact, I have nicknamed it my “love wreath” because it is a physical reminder of my husband’s love for me. I remember how he sacrificed his time to help me with one of my projects and how we laughed and bonded over bent wire and clothespins. Every time I see the wreath, I smile.
How many other visual reminders of our love do I overlook in our house?
When I train my eyes to look for other “love wreaths” in my life, I realize that my wedding ring, a photo of the two of us displayed in our living room, our children darting through our legs, and the paint color of our basement, which took us months to pick out together, are all tangible reminders of the love between the two of us, our story, and our history. How quickly I forget to pay attention to the concrete reminders of my husband’s love that are all around me. Pictures and memorabilia blend into the background, and rather than noticing and appreciating them, I waste so much time just getting through the hours as days turn into months in my home. I wonder, if I would pause to notice these things, would my thoughts naturally dwell more on the positive, creating in me a deeper appreciation for our story?
What if I take a picture of the empty dishwasher after my husband does the dishes for me and then keep the photo somewhere in my home where I’ll see it frequently? Rather than throwing the ticket stubs from our dates into a box in the closet, what if I creatively display them? Making a craft project, taking a picture, or journaling a special memory can become physical reminders that I can incorporate into our decor. I don’t know about you, but I want to be better about creating more physical reminders of the story of my husband’s and my love!
How can you create visual evidence of your husband’s love for you? This semicrafty girl would love to hear your ideas!
Instructions for the Christmas Card Wreath can be found here.
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