Just Have A Plan!

As Valentine’s Day approaches, lots of couples try to think of something special to do on February 14th. The fact of the matter is that we need to love each other every day like it’s “Valentine’s Day”. Something that I realized early on in our marriage is that the most special gift is when Brandon comes up with the plan! In other words, it doesn’t make a difference if he takes me to the park with a picnic blanket or downtown to a fancy restaurant - the fact of the matter is that he has the plan. Of course there is a time and a place for each - but here’s a great little story to show that you can have fun wherever you are! 

Our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple - we had only been married for five months. Brandon told me that he had something special planned for Valentine’s Day and that was all I needed to know! It didn’t matter to me what we did - I just loved that he had a plan! When the day arrived, he happily told me that he was taking me camping! He had the spot marked out and had planned for us to take our tent, build a fire, and be cozy as we camped for the night. We stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few camping essentials - then layered on the clothes and went out on our adventure. Little did either of us know, that the temperature would drop to around freezing! It didn’t matter since we had each other for warmth. Fortunately I had grabbed a packet of Hand Warmers at the last minute - so we literally passed the little hand warmer back and forth all night for heat. We also had planned for our awesome air mattress to fit inside the tent - needless to say, it was way too big for our little two man tent. Our cold night was spent sleeping on the roots of the ground that poked through the tent and Brandon getting up to continually put logs on the fire place to keep the wood burning. I am not joking when I say that was one of the most fun times - we were together and that was all that mattered. 

Two things to take away from this story! One, when your man shares his plan with you - if it’s not exactly what you would have picked out - support him in the fact that he came up with a plan. Two, us ladies really don’t mind what we do - just plan something!! I’m sure that most (if not all!) of the girls reading this blog can testify to the fact that we feel loved and pursued when our guy has a plan! This has been something that Brandon has learned - it’s taken a little time - but he has learned how much this means to me. Something for the guys to realize is that any plan is better than no plan. Don’t get hung up on trying to make it the most “perfect” or “pricey” plan - when you’re with your best friend...it will be fun! You have twelve more days to think about what you’re going to do to make this “Valentine’s Day” extra special. Brandon can testify to the fact that his greatest gift to me is not what we do...but just having a plan and thinking of something!!

We’ve heard from a lot of our blog readers that you’d love to hear Brandon’s side of these Marriage Moments. Truth be told, he is the primary editor of each blog post. He is not big on the writing or typing - but he reads each post and adds his two cents in what needs to be said or edited. We have decided to conclude each post from here on out with a “closing statement from the man of the house”...so here’s the first one of many...

Closing statement from the man of the house: “Guys, there are certain times when a girl doesn’t want to have to deal with decision making. This could be as simple as what to eat for dinner or what to do on a Friday night...and trust me...she’ll let you know when she’s feeling that way. And take it from me, when your helper needs help - just make a plan! It’s not rocket science! If she doesn’t like your plan - just let her know you were trying to love her!! Keep in mind, we make a plan because it’s an easy way to show our wives that we love them! And this is coming from a spontaneous guy that doesn’t like planning...”