We are now one week into the 28 Days of Free Love. Some days, I know exactly what I’m going to do from the moment I wake up. Other days, I have to improvise.
Some days, I’m scrambling to come up with something at the last minute. Other days, situations magically present themselves…or maybe I discover them because I’m looking!
Either way, I’m enjoying the challenge of performing these little acts of love. Here’s the breakdown of what I did, day by day:
DAY 1 (TUESDAY): I decided to start out the month by showering some love on my hubby with a “date night in.” After Henry’s bedtime, we relaxed with a bowl of ice cream and couple of favorite shows, and I surprised Steve with a foot soak. I laid out towels and filled two plastic tubs with water (which turned out to be way too hot) and some luxurious foaming bath oil from my stash. I treated him to an exfoliant scrub foot massage. It was relaxing and he definitely felt pampered. (How we spent the rest of the evening is none of your business.)
DAY 2 (WEDNESDAY): Recently a childhood friend of mine from California got engaged. My congratulations on Facebook didn’t seem good enough, so I decided I needed to make the time to call her. I did…and I got her voicemail. But a couple of days later, she called me back and we had a wonderful chat. I’m so glad I made the time.
DAY 3 (THURSDAY): My sis-in-law was having a rough week – she and the boys have been sick, and my brother is out of town. I thought about dropping in with some get-well goodies, but I decided to call first. I’m glad I did, because although she was grateful for the offer, she was counting on a quiet evening and early bedtimes. Instead, we made plans to get together the next week.
DAY 4 (FRIDAY): Steve usually gets home about an hour after Henry has gone to bed, so he misses out on evening time. Even though I was kind of tired, I let Henry stay up late on Friday so they could have a little extra time together. Seeing them tear around the living room playing football made it very worthwhile.
DAY 5 (SATURDAY): A while back I picked up some chairs on Freecycle, but I decided they were too intense of a project for me right now, so I offered them to my friend Selina who does fabulous things with furniture. We hadn’t made plans for her to pick them up, so I called and invited her and her husband over for an impromptu game night. I made apple crisp, and agreed to play a crazy complicated card game called FaceEater. And much to everyone’s surprise, I even won.
DAY 6 (SUNDAY): On Sunday, I picked up a free car seat that was offered up on Craigslist. Steve and I have been searching for a second car seat, and after many frustrating Craigslist experiences, these people were helpful, generous, and quick to respond. The car seat was exactly what we needed and exceeded my expectations. I was feeling grateful – and I had their address – so I sent them a handwritten thank you note.
DAY 7 (MONDAY): I can’t decide if this is cheating, but my act of free love for this day was the time I spent with my sister-in-law. I suppose one could consider this a repeat from Thursday when we made the plans, but I’m going to let it count because it was such a love-filled evening. After the kids went to bed, we had a great talk which lasted until after midnight.
Seven days of Free Love so far. I am excited to see what happens with the plans I am cooking up for the rest of the month.
And now it’s your turn….what have you done to spread the love this week?
This is such a great idea, free love, I love it! We all need a little love and the best way we can offer it is by spending time with people!
I absolutely agree! Time is the most precious gift we can give.