He's Only 78 Days Early

Some time ago, the clock that we had on the mantel in our living room stopped working; but rather than replacing it immediately, we waited.  Even though my brain knew very well that the clock was gone, my eyes did wander innumerable times to the mantel when I wanted to know what time it was (habit is strong!), and each time was a reminder that we no longer had a clock there!

I didn't go on an all-out hunt for a new clock, but I was aware enough of our void to perk up when I saw a beautiful picture (on someone's blog, although whose it was I do not know) of a clock hanging from a wall in a kitchen, with the time visible on both sides.  I instantly knew that with the wall between our kitchen and living room, we had a perfect place for such a clock; and I emailed Jeff that night, showing him a picture and suggesting that he might want to get me something like that for Christmas.  :)  

By the way, we strongly believe that making one's spouse guess and mind-read about such things is something akin to torture, so we don't hesitate to let each other know what gifts would be appreciated; and I think we both breathe easier as holidays and birthdays approach, not having to fear that unmet expectations will creep in to cast a pall over the celebration.

But back to the clock...

A package arrived here today, but that's not terribly unusual, and I didn't give a second thought to what it might be as I set it on the counter to await Jeff's arrival.  He opened it pretty much as soon as he got home; and when he saw what it was, he said, "Well, there's no sense in THAT sitting around here in a box until Christmas!"  And with that, he took it out of the box and presented to me my first Christmas present of 2013.

After supper, he went right to work and got it hung for me.

I've only admired it about 529 times this evening!

It's just a clock, I know--simply an instrument to tell time, whether looking from the kitchen or from the living room.  But when I look at it, I see two other things.

I see beauty.

And I see love.  :)