I did something radical this past week.
Okay, I did two radical things.
The first thing I did involved my hairdresser, my standing appointment for a trim, and a pair of scissors. As I walked into the beauty salon, I smiled at Marissa (hairdresser extraordinaire!) and said, “Marissa, today I get my hair C-U-T. Not trimmed. Cut.” 
I was reminded of a scene in one of my all-time favorite books. “Joy In the Morning,” by Betty Smith. In this particular scene, the main character (Annie)—who is living with her husband Carl on campus—sees that the college girls of the day (the setting is the 1920’s, if I remember correctly) are wearing their hair “bobbed.” Wanting to fit in, Annie gets her hair bobbed.
I suppose I wanted to fit in. I went and got my hair bobbed. My husband’s reaction was classic. He thought he was now “sleeping with a younger woman.”. (Wonderful….) My mother is thrilled. She hated my hair long. My daughter’s reaction was “oooooo…we’ll add highlights!”
Okay, so everyone likes it. Most importantly, I like it. ‘Cause if Mama ain’t happy…. Well, you know….
To add to my marital bliss ‘o the week, I stole my hubby away for a weekend in my favorite getaway, Cedar Key, Florida. Like most couples who have been married as long as we have, we spent more time sleeping and eating than anything else. Which was nice, I have to tell you. I even napped! Napping is a good thing. We also watched the sun rise and the sun set. 
Cedar Key is a town time forgot. It is also a town that forgot time. Allow me to give you an example. One of my favorite stores in Cedar Key is an antique shop called Gypsy Me. As we approached the door of what used to be someone’s seaside home, we spotted an interesting sign in the door’s window.
“Store Hours,” it said. “Thursday through Monday. 10:00 or 11:00-ish until 3:00 or 4:00-ish.”
We had to return three or four-ish times before we found it open for business.
One of the best things about the weekend was the renewal of my love for my husband. We had this tender moment…this very tender moment. It wasn’t a sexual moment. It was a tender moment. In a moment of silence—a time when no words had been spoken or had been necessary for that matter—my husband brushed the back of his fingertips along my cheek and said, “You are so pretty.” Butterflies I haven’t felt in a long time fluttered about my insides and I remembered why I fell head over heels in love with this man so long ago.
Later I thought about all those years ago when I fell so crazy in love with my Heavenly Bridegroom. Over time, I’ve grown quite comfortable with Him. Sometimes, I think, I am too comfortable. I forget all about those butterflies. To gain that feeling back, I know, I only have to spend time alone with Him. To allow Him to brush His fingertips along my cheek and whisper words of love to me. Sweet words. Adoring words.
And all I have to do is hush.
9 Comments
Ha, and he even said that before the haircut!
I recall my MIL asking me if I loved Ross more than my Heavenly Father. At the time I thought she was a weirdo. I was jump-starting my newfound faith journey and didn’t grasp the concept of loving God and truly putting Him first. Now I get it. If she were still here today, I’d tell her that I do love God more.
Thanks for sharing your intimacies with us.
Eva,
I love your new “do.” It’s you! And your romantic weekend . . . oh la la! What next? Your post reads like a romantic novel and now I want more. . . . Do I have to wait until next week?
I called my husband and said, “You’re meeting me for lunch right now (it’s only 11:19 a.m. EST)! How’s that for a romantic start? I hear the “older” we get the “shorter” we should cut our hair. I had a bob like yours last spring, started growing it out long again (oh, the pain with that!), and now I’m riding the fence—should I or shouldn’t I? Hairdressers love it when you give them the “cut” word—they detest “trim.” I think it’s like saying to an editor, “Just read, don’t get out that red pen.” Can you imagine? Great post . . . oh the possibilities!
As someone who grew up in the deep do-do of a works based faith and legalism, I thank you for the reminder to just “hush”. I think I’ll lay aside my list today and just listen.
I do have a question though. Eating and napping are great. Love to do those things on weekends away. But… I’m just understanding God’s gift of sex in all its fullness (grew up with some skewed teaching on the subject) and I just barely make it into this Boomer Club (born in 1964). Here’s the question: Do I still have some good years left for other “pleasures”? I’d like to think I could get back “the years the locusts have eaten”.
Signed,
Hopeful in Hatfield
Dear Hopeful (I feel like Dear Abby)
Yes, indeedy you do!
At the risk of giving away all my romantic secrets, I did not mention the passion of the weekend. Like you have come to realize, I believe that sex is the wedding gift of the Heavenly Father to the Bride & Groom, not to be opened until after the wedding. (My regret is that I did not always understand this but am so grateful to understand it NOW!…you readers can read into that anything you want…)
I hate what society and other perversions have done to us as women, don’t you? Many of us boomers are trapped between the “don’t talk about it” and “women’s lib” movements. We don’t know whether to throw abandon or caution to the wind within our marriages!
My suggestion, Hopeful, (again, I’m feeling like Dear Abby) is to take that “hush” moment and become so beautifully linked with your Eternal Bridegroom that you hear His whisper of the beauty by which He designed His gift of sex within the marriage bed. You’ll see. What God intended as the utmost expression of love cannot be destroyed by the devil’s nasty interpretations if we don’t allow it!
And, like Forrest Gump, that’s all I have to say about that…
Eva,
Very cute new do! And what a fun weekend!
Since it is about 3 degrees here in Chicago the description of anywhere warm and tropical sounds like a little slice of heaven.
Good advice to “Hopeful” –marriage is meant to be enjoyed in every way!
Keri
Wow, Eva! You’re one hot Mama. Makes me want to call the hairdresser…
Yours,
Long-haired Because I’m Lazy
Eva, I can hardly wait to see your new hair style in person when you speak tomorrow night in Spartanburg, SC…if the weather cooperates! Be ready for a wintry mix when you leave sunny Florida.
Looking forward…Ginger
Eva,
Your writing takes my breath away. I’m touched by your ongoing love affair with your husband! Wonderful to see in a world of broken and unhappy marriages.
My heart hurts for my best friend, (a beautiful, compassionate, and loving woman), whose husband ran off on her many years ago. They worked with us as youth leaders at our church. It seems infidelity is across the board.
BTW, I’m discovering how to put that spark back into my marriage. Sometimes it simply means learning to laugh again and not get so hung up on the little things:)
Walking in His grace,
Susan
http://www.livingtheadventurouslife.blogspot.com
Oh Eva Marie, come speak here in Tulsa so I can see your new haircut! A group of older women (60’s and 70’s) once told me that women over 40 should never grow their hair. I determined then and there to never have mine short again! But I can imagine yours short and in my head it looks lovely.
As to God and sex, I attended a marriage seminar this weekend and discovered that the first commandment in the Bible to married couples: be fruitful and multiply. Who am I to break God’s commandment? The Good Lord giveth …
Miss you, and miss Word Weavers. Give them all my love?
Flea