A Ribbon of Love

While pretty much all of the ideas which I write on this blog are my own (yes, I have a very active imagination), every once in a while I get one from somebody else. In this case, I’m taking an idea that my daughter, Jenni did to her boyfriend.

I’m always looking for new ways to express my love towards my wife. Not only do I like to keep things fresh, so it doesn’t become just routine, but I want to keep her love tank full. Love begets love, so the best way that I can make sure that she loves me is to make sure that she feels loved.

My wife’s love language is words of affirmation. She needs to hear that I love her. Not only does she need to hear that I love her, but she needs to hear that I think highly of her. Now, you might think that the two are more or less the same, but in really aren’t. There are people who I think highly of, but I don’t love them. Likewise, there can be people that we love, but don’t think highly of.

Women are belittled a lot in today’s society. More than anything, it’s Madison Avenue that’s telling them that they’re not good enough. They are constantly bombarded with advertising that tells them that they’re not pretty enough, not sexy enough, not good enough mothers, not good enough lovers and just plain no t good enough. No wonder women have such insecurities about themselves. So, not only does my wife need to hear that I love her, but that I think highly of her in every way possible.

Okay, so here’s a way to bombard her with words of love and words of affirmation, both at the same time. Sit down at your computer and make a bulleted list of all the things that you love and appreciate about your wife. Everything that you think is good about her should be on that list. You want at least 50 things, but the more the merrier; if you can come up with 200, you’ll really be building her up.

Don’t try and do that whole list in one sitting. You’re going to be more successful if you write up the list of what you can think of at the moment, then come back to it a few times more. Each time, as you read over what you’ve got, you’ll be able to come up with some new ones to add.

Once your list is done, you’ll need to format it a bit. Set the spacing between each line at about 24 pt. so that you’ll have some extra paper to work with. If you know how to change the bullets, make them hearts or something cute like that. Then print it. If you have colored paper to print it on, so much the better. Make a bunch of lines that just say things like “I Love You” as well.

Cut your list into strips, just like you were going to make a paper chain for the Christmas Tree. Except, we’re not going to make a chain out of it, we’re going to make a ribbon out of it. Glue the strips end to end, making one long ribbon out of it. If you have some real ribbon that’s the same width as your strips, you could intersperse some of that in between your printed items, just to make the ribbon longer. My daughter cut up music sheets and used them in between her items (they’re both choir directors).

Now, you need a place to put your ribbon. Sometime when your wife isn’t home, find a spot to run the ribbon back and forth, covering a doorway, the mirror on her vanity or even back and forth across your bedroom, if your ribbon is long enough. You could even slip into her office (if she has one) and leave it as a surprise there.

My daughter had to mail hers, so she cut a heart out of cardboard, and wrapped the ribbon around it. Before wrapping, she wrote “I Love You” on the heart. It’s the same idea, just portable.

Now, sit back and wait for your wife to find it. She probably won’t scream or jump up and down, because she’ll be too busy reading it. That’s okay, once she reads it, the fireworks can begin.