Falling in Love & Recognizing It Later

I have a picture of the counselor framed in a Christmas ornament that hangs from the lamp next to my computer.

The photograph was taken early in our marriage. I remember the moment exactly. Our first child, Chandler was a week old. The counselor was holding him, sitting next to his dad, Chandler’s grandpa. It was one of the moments, when he looked at me and we communicated without words.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“We have a child together.”

“And he looks like you. Isn’t it wonderful?”

“This is what I’ve always wanted.”

“You make my dreams come true.”

And then he smiled for the picture.

I find myself staring at this photograph when I’m working. It fills me with love.

The counselor and I were friends for several months before we officially started dating. I was a student at ASU and lived in Tempe just minutes from campus. We meet at church one evening in the parking lot and exchanged phone numbers. He was the type of friend who surprised me with yellow balloons on my bicycle handlebars, homemade cookies at my doorstep and hand-written poetry in my mailbox. Of course I wasn’t interested in him romantically, I mean he was just a friend. It took a while before I really saw what was happening.

I remember the moment I fell in love with him. It was four months after we met. He was at my apartment and we were making a salad for lunch; two friends who liked to hang out and be together. He was standing in front of me and suddenly he looked different. His eyes were so blue, his shoulders so broad and he was tall, really tall. He was beautiful, actually, with wonderful wavy hair and the sweetest lips I’d ever seen. For the first time, I thought with my heart instead with my mind. I literally attacked him with kisses and we’ve been kissing ever since.

The counselor later told me the first time he saw me in the church parking lot it was love at first sight. This is the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.

I’m so glad he waited for me to come around. He’s given me a beautiful life, rich and full of immeasurable joy.

The counselor worked on Saturday and boys and I went to see him at his office during his break. I haven’t been to his office for quite sometime and had to laugh when we all went inside. He’s office is furnished with trash; the most professional trash you can imagine.

I found this sand tray several years ago.

I purchased it at a yard sale for $5.00 and the boys used it for awhile. While studying a play therapy manual, the counselor came across the benefits of using sand therapy when counseling young children. He suggested he take the sand tray to his office. The children he counsels love it and I’m so glad I purchased it. You never know what you’ll use something for in the future.

Like this huge amore. I paid $20.00 for it and it took 4 men to move it into our home.

We used it for several years as a computer desk in our living room. When the counselor moved into his new office, he needed storage & shelving. This piece worked out perfectly. He keeps supplies nicely organized inside this beauty.

The couch is from Salvation Army. I paid $60.00 for it and it fits perfectly in this therapeutic space. I love the lines.

His leather chair was purchased for $100.00 at a consignment shop in Sedona this last fall.

The trip was a weekend get-away for the two of us.

We hiked and stared into each other's eyes, but of course I had to do some thrifting while we were there. That's when we found his perfect counseling chair.

Until this weekend, I hadn’t realized the significance of every piece of furniture in his office. Sometimes it surprises me how much trash has blessed my life. It literally is in everything I do and everything I create. Most of the time I don’t see it until it hits me over the head or until I kiss its tender lips. I guess the blessing is eventually, I do see it.