What I Really Want for Christmas: Time

I finally got Husband’s wish list. On said list is a $3,600 item. (I ask, is it wrong then to ask for a puppy?) Anyway, I yelled from my home office to his home office (around the corner), “hey, that’s one pricey item.” He yelled back, “you asked for a wish list.”

 Something tells me Husband actually read my latest blog post on marital gift giving.

If I could, I would buy anything for Husband. But, truth be told, what we both really, really want this year is time. Unfortunately, the one thing I am not able to give Husband is more than 24 hours in a day.

But, thanks to friends of ours, “G” and “L”, another idea has emerged. They have an interesting way of buying time for one another. They take “staycations” throughout the year. “G” and “L” take a week off – no work, no computer, no “to-do” lists. But, they stay at home. There is no travel, no packing, no schlepping the 24 ounce face wash to a hotel room that has no counter space for it anyway. They simply relish their home and do whatever is fun – in-home massages, movies, dinners, walks around the property looking at the bluebirds. Heaven!

Imagine time away from the computer. But, rather spending time at the movies. Time to practice the slow movement over dinner (read: dinner takes 3 hours). Time to think. Time to fool around. The end of the endless “to-do” list.  Rather you are enjoying “unstructured downtime,” as my friend “T” said yesterday during one of our catch-up calls. Imagine having the time to really, really, look each other in the eye and really, really listen to the answer to “what’s happening?”

So, men, here’s an idea for you for a holiday gift: plan a “staycation” with your spouse. This means choose a week. (Yes, you have to nail down the details.). Plan several fun things, and leave some time open for your spouse to plan some fun things. For instance, are there things in your area you’ve always wanted to do, to visit, to just check out? (Personally, I’d like to spend an hour in Feast! just sampling their hundreds of cheeses.) Or, don’t plan anything at all. Just go with it.

I boldly recommend to you – older marital couple or not – your spouse will be delighted by the idea of playing through this very different kind of “to-do” list – one filled with fun, rest, and togetherness.

I know I would.

And, if we could make it a “threesome” with the puppy, it’d be perfect.

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