Little blue boxes and missing blue pants

I think one of the great things about having a really, really good husband is being able to be indulged and surprised at the same time. And that I get to laugh. A lot.

So last night my hubby came home (late, after a "team building exercise" that was really just an excuse for him and all his colleagues to leave work early and go play dodgeball on a big trampoline mat) and we were laying in bed talking, which is one of the best parts of my day, and I said, "Sooooo, where is it?"

"Where is what?"

"My present!"

The boy has been saying for days that my present was the BAS sitting in our backyard. Specifically, the larger windows and shutters that he upgraded just for me. Can't you feel the love?

But he's also been quite mysterious, and he doesn't play mysterious well. He can't lie. He just can't. And he knows this. When he lies (or tries to lie, that is), he smiles or laughs, and he won't look me in the eye. I figured this out, oh, like 14 years ago, and he knows it, but he keeps trying and failing miserably.

So when he told me the other night that he had to "stop at the store" on the way home, I knew he was up to something. If he's got to stop at Sam's, he says he's going to Sam's and he's getting milk, fruit and cereal and do I need anything. If he's going to Home Depot, he says he's going to Home Depot and getting weed killer, lawn bags and fertilizer and do I need anything. If he's going to "the store" and gives no other details, well, then he's up to something.

So last night, because I have the patience of a termite, I asked, "Where is it?"

And he indulged me and said I could have my present early. I had to hide in the bathroom while he went and retrieved it from the super-secret hiding place, but I could have it early.

Let's just say, the boy did good. Goooooood.

First of all, he got me something from Zoe. How adorable is that?! Zoe's gift is a letter lock charm for my Tiffany bracelet, the letter "Z." For Zoe, of course. Coincidental that it's also the initial of our last name? I think not.

He did confess to me later that he hadn't intended on purchasing the charm; it was an impulse buy.

My husband doesn't like to frivolously spend money, but he'll impulse shop in Tiffany & Co. Yep. Pretty sure I picked a good one.

We added the Z to my bracelet right then and there, so I'd get to wear it today. Which I am. And loving it.

Then, he pulled out his gift to me. It was another blue box. Bigger than the first one. Ooooo.

One of the great things about receiving a blue box from Tiffany is that the box itself, with the beautiful white ribbon, is so meaningful. I know that when he pulls out a blue Tiffany bag, with the blue Tiffany box with the white ribbon, that I must be someone very, very special.

He gave me an absolutely beautiful Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti necklace. Elsa Peretti is an Italian designer who started creating pieces for Tiffany in 1974. She derives much of her work from the fluid forms of nature, and the open heart is one of her signature pieces. The clasp is a tiny sterling silver bone that goes through an open heart. I couldn't find the necklace on Tiffany's site, but I did find the bracelet so you can get an idea of what it looks like.

My necklace looks just like this, only longer, with more hearts and pearls.

It is delicately beautiful and simply gorgeous.

And I'm still in shock.

It's safe to say that when he said he was going to "the store," I didn't dream that the store was Tiffany.

When the tears welled up in my eyes, and I choked out, "You shouldn't have spent this much..." he responded, "Our 10-year anniversary only happens once."

And then I gave him the new Bruce Springsteen CD I picked up for him, and mumbled something about the BAS, and how I didn't know we were going all out with gifts for this occasion as usually we don't. And he told me he loved the Springsteen CD, and he meant it so genuinely that I almost cried all over again (and am about to again, now, just remembering it), and that he doesn't want anything but what we have (meaning the BAS and, you know, our undying love for each other, that sort of thing), and I fell for him all over again, for the gajillionth time.

And then this morning we had this conversation:

M: "Where are my blue pants?"

A: "What?"
M: "My blue pants. You said you washed them a few days ago, but they're not here."

A: "I don't remember that."

M: "Well, they're not in the closet and they're not downstairs, so where are they?!"

A: [Not out loud, of course] "Oh, boy. We've lost another article of clothing. Again."

We both looked in the closet, him becoming more agitated and me thinking, "Jeez, are we really doing this again? So soon after the missing-shirts-found-in-Austin incident?"

Then he told me to keep getting ready for work; he was going back downstairs to continue looking. As soon as he left the bedroom I checked his luggage (still sitting in the corner from his last trip) and pulled out the missing blue pants.

And I thought, "We are so perfect for each other."