I want to tell you about an amazing couple and a creative gift idea they shared with me recently!
Maggie and Lacy live in a beach town in Oregon and have been together for five years. For as long as I’ve known them, I have never heard either one say one word that is negative or mean-spirited about the other.
In fact, when each one talks about the other, they positively glow with joy. They can’t help but grin. They use the word “love” repeatedly. And if they were cartoon characters, you’d see their hearts gleefully boing-boing-ing out of their chests.
Maggie and Lacy are one of my favorite couples in the world because they intentionally love each other and they make choices to express their love consistently and often — in unique and creative ways.
They practice putting love into action.
💥💓💥
Ready for an example?! Wheeeee … I hope you will try this out for your own partner/spouse — or children!
How to leave behind a Love Note Treasure Hunt
Maggie is a renowned photographer and she travels a lot for her work. Lacy is a successful entrepreneur and life coach who also travels a lot for business. So the two of them began a tradition very early on in their relationship of leaving the other one a card when she headed out of town. Lacy might hide a card in Maggie’s luggage or Maggie might leave a card propped up on the kitchen table for Lacy to find later.
“We created a foundation in our relationship that we would always give each other something to stay connected while we were apart,” Maggie explained.
“Then one day I was writing a card saying, ‘I’m going to miss you. I can’t wait to see you in five days when I return,’ and I thought maybe I should create more things to keep Lacy engaged and connected while I was gone. So on an impulse, at the end of that card, I wrote, ‘Clue: this gift we have is a token of our trip to the coast. What is imperfect to some, is perfect to others.’ I knew Lacy would know that I was referring to a souvenir vase that we had, which was cracked, but which we still loved.”
Maggie explained, “I wanted my first card to lead her to that vase. So I then wrote another card to put under that vase. I also thought to write on the first card, ‘Don’t read your second note until tomorrow!’”
Maggie had hit upon the beautiful and delightful idea to create a Love Note Treasure Hunt for Lacy!
She ended up writing five letters and leading Lacy to them with clues. Each note reminded Lacy not to read the next card until the next day. In that way, the two of them stayed very connected the whole time Maggie was away on business.
Lacy told me that she loved finding each card and savoring it, waiting to open it the next day. “I would pour myself a cup of coffee in the morning and open up my card from Maggie to read. When we’re at home together, we start our days together so this was a neat way to still start the day ‘together’ even though we were apart.”
Lacy continued, “Maggie and I love to go on adventures together. This gift made me feel like she and I were on an adventure together! There is so much excitement that happens in a moment of anticipation and Maggie gave me that gift of the feeling of being on a trip together and looking forward to the next adventure.”
Lacy also said that she and Maggie are huge fans of the book, “The Five Love Languages,” by Gary Chapman and that Maggie knows quality time is one way that Lacy feels loved.
The Treasure Hunt was a way for Maggie to give Lacy quality time together, even though they were separated geographically.
Brilliant, right? There are so many great elements to this gift!
Here are some things I especially love about this Treasure Hunt gift:
- It begins with an intention to stay connected, even when the couple is apart.
- Maggie’s first card she was writing would have been an amazing and loving gesture all on its own. But she listened to her creativity when it dropped in and took action immediately when the idea presented itself to write more than one card. She could have shrugged it off as “too much trouble” but instead, she chose to devote more time to a more loving gift.
- Maggie also listened to the idea that dropped in about asking Lacy to open only one card a day. Again, a great idea got even better. By spacing out the opening of the cards, it kept the two of them “together” on this adventure for the whole five days Maggie was gone.
- Lacy especially appreciated the “anticipation” aspect of the gift. This is a great reminder that looking forward to things is a big part of being a loving couple.
- Maggie and Lacy both made it a point to read “The Five Love Languages” and to acknowledge the ways the other most feels loved. They pay attention and apply the principles of the book to bring more love into their relationship.
What do you think? Are you game to try this? Next time you go away, how ’bout leaving a Love Note Treasure Hunt behind!