A Bright Spot in a Poor Time

Does anyone else get tired of being in a recession?

Sometimes, I think about what I would do if money were no object.  Once when we as a family were experiencing a lean time, I commented to my husband at a warehouse-type store that had a whole aisle full of fresh flowers, "Someday, when I'm rich, I want to buy myself fresh flowers every week."

I don't think I looked at him for his reaction, which I assumed it to be somewhere between a scoff and a snort.

He hasn't been a big flower-giver.  Which is fine.

I like to get flowers just like any other woman, but when the choice is between flowers for your table or milk for your table, you get the milk.

He often remembers special occasions with flowers.  Which is nice.

The funniest time he ever gave me flowers was when I had had a baby during a particularly difficult financial year.  He headed toward me with a huge bouquet in hand while saying the words, "These were really, really cheap."

It was a bit of a surreal moment, yes.  But I smiled and understood.  He wanted to please me with the flowers, but he also didn't want me to worry about him having spent money on something so frivolous when money was so tight.

In my opinion, that kind of pulling-together-as-a-team intimacy is more romantic than frivolous (and wasteful) stuff happening when it would result in pocketbook pain in other areas.

In other words, a good marriage is both the producer and a product of a household that runs smoothly.  Dramatic ups and downs are, for me, not so much fun.

I was reminded of both of those past events the other day when my husband came through the door from grocery shopping with a huge armful of gladiolas.

"Who died?" I may or may not have asked.

"They're for you," he said.  "They were cheap," he added, "but I want you to feel rich."