I was picking up some things  in our living room when I noticed it, a small package delivered to my doorstep by the UPS delivery truck.  I didn’t order anything, leastwise not that I could remember.  Stooping over to pick it up I noticed the return address.

I smiled.

A few years ago Tom and I were able to go to France.  We took a tour which included a visit to the small country of Monaco; you may know it as the country where Grace Kelly fell in love and became Princess Grace.  We visited the church where they were married.  It is also their final resting place as she and her husband, Prince Rainier, were buried side by side in the floor of the cathedral.  Visitors from all over the world come to remember her and their amazing love story.

From there our tour took us to the Fragonard perfumery,  where French perfumers mix various essential oils to create some of the most beautiful scents I’ve ever smelled.  This was something I had never given much thought to – how perfume was made.  The tour guide took us through every aspect of the perfuming process.  Huge vats – large enough to fill my living room, both wide and tall – were filled with pounds and pounds of fresh wildflowers from southern France.

There they were crushed and processed into a pulp until the sweet smelling oils were completely extracted.  The perfumers then take the various oils and make signature perfumes, lotions and soaps.

It was quite the tour.  It ended with a visit to their store where we could sample all the perfumes.  I found one I really liked and Tom bought it for me.  A very special memory I could take home and enjoy.

I had mentioned a few weeks ago that I was almost out of my French perfume.  Tom took it upon himself to order it for me as an anniversary surprise, but it didn’t arrive in time for him to give me while we were away.  This didn’t spoil the surprise, it only added to it.

There were times in our marriage when Tom would have told me about the order and how it hadn’t arrived in time and how disappointed he was and so forth and so on.  But through the years he has learned he doesn’t have to give the secret away – just offer a teaser, which he did.  He said he had a gift coming, but I’d have to wait for it. 🙂

This was fine with me!  Tom had bought something special.  He had bought it for me.  I could wait, and I could wait with a smile for my husband was being romantically mysterious, and I loved it!

There were also times in our marriage when I would have tried to figure out what the surprise was ahead of time.  But I’ve learned through experience it it so much more fun to go along with the suspense, even if you’re like me and find it’s hard to wait.

So whether you’re the giver or the receiver, don’t spill the beans just because things don’t go exactly as you have planned.  You never know when you may stumble upon a package in your living room and discover it’s filled with the most fragrant of aromas.  And maybe, just maybe you’ll do what I did – you’ll find it unexpectedly on an ordinary day doing routine things and you’ll smile!

1st Photo: Cheekykitchen.com

All others: Fragonard locations