an extravagant gift.

When I met Nate he was a self-employed bachelor living alone in a tiny house.  He made beams and spindles for lowering vw buses and sold them online.  The website was in its infancy.  He was the funnest boyfriend because he was always willing to skip an afternoon of work to go fishing or for a hike.  He'd frequently nap on the floor of his tiny house in the afternoon.  I think he needed to earn like $500 a month to pay his rent and utilities and his food budget was mostly krusteaz pancakes, top ramen and burittos.

Fast forward twelve years.  Not surprisingly, our house payment is a bit more than $500.  We also rent shop space.  And pay a couple of employees.  He builds a lot more than beams and spindles and I haven't seen him take a nap on the floor in a decade.

Today is my 37th birthday and he gave me the very best gift.  Precious hours alone in my house to think and dream and rest.  In this busy season, there is always someone underfoot and usually that someone is talking at loud volumes.  Nate is busy too and can rarely take time away during a busy work day.  After driving Claire to school, he took those other two kids with him for some fun with dad.

All so that this introvert could get a moment alone.  He loves me well.

Also I got a birthday card from a 2 1/2 year old nasty pink bunny.  What more could a girl hope for?