Photo Credit: Delicious Obsessions blog

You’ve heard the classic song, Just A Spoonful of Sugar, sung by Julie Andrews in the Disney movie, Mary Poppins. It speaks of taking a spoonful of sugar to help the bitter taste of medicine “go down.”

Well, we’re not having to take medicine, but Tom being out of a job can feel bitter to a degree. That is if all you think about is what you don’t have or can’t do, etc. So I came up with some “sugar” so to speak, to help Tom as long as he is without a job.  Only God knows how long this season will last, but we might as well have some fun with it in the meantime.

I made Tom something I call the Jobless Jar of Adventure. I know it’s corny. Tom rolled his eyes at me too, but the idea is good.

• I typed out at least 30 different things we can do together that are free or very inexpensive. Some are things we’ve done before and enjoyed, and some are things we’ve wanted to do, but have never had the chance.
• I cut them into strips, folded them, and placed them in the candy jar he used to have on his desk.
• I wrote him a letter explaining that when he had a day with nothing to do, or if he was feeling bored or blue, he could take one strip of paper out of the jar for us to do that day.  If the adventure listed wasn’t feasible to do that day, he could draw another one–but only once.
• I hid the jar with five pennies next to it along with the letter.
• I wrote a little note on his bathroom mirror telling him there was a surprise waiting for him and where he could find it.
• When he found the jar, he learned he was to drop one penny into the jar each day he was unemployed. But in return he could take one strip of paper out for an adventure to enjoy with me. 🙂

And that’s it. We haven’t had the chance to actually try one of the adventures yet, but we will. So far we have seven pennies and counting…

How do you help your spouse when they’re going through a difficult time? Sometimes a little romance can help brighten their day in a way nothing else could.