A wonderful, unexpected gift.

It was my birthday over the weekend. It usually completely overshadow by the fact that my oldest warrior princess was born the day before my birthday and most of my energy is channeled straight into presents, party and cake for her. Usually I wake up on my birthday and think "Oh yeah, it's my birthday!"

So I hadn't really thought much about it. But I know that my lovely man is especially good at buying me gifts. You see, without meaning to gloat, he listens to me. I am incredibly blessed to be in love with a man who actually pays attention when I'm rambling on about things that he doesn't have much interest in or knowledge about.

If you know me, it takes a lot to render me speechless, I can talk the hind leg of a donkey. But he managed that just with one birthday present.

About a year ago I told him about a book I had borrowed from a lovely artist friend of mine. It is an incredible book. It's called The Art of Colour by Johannes Itten and it is the most beautifully captivating book about physics I have ever laid eyes on. It's essentially poetic, which appeals massively to my love of words, and it explains so much about the way we experience colour. My friend had acquired this book quite a few years ago and it was an expensive book then. It's also now out of print. Even a Kindle version of the book is about £85, which for an e-book just seems a little ridiculous.

But my crazy, lovely, incredible man listened. He heard my passion and he remembered.

And he found me a second hand copy of that book that I love so much. It's sitting carefully in my bookshelf, away from my girls mucky fingers, loved and cherished. You see, while I love this book and it's incredibly useful with all kinds of knowledge contained in it's pages, it's not just the book itself that rendered me speechless.

It was the thought behind it. I have found so much healing in being heard, realising that he listens to me...even when I'm rambling about random stuff and especially when all I'm doing is processing the thoughts in my head out loud. It's not what most of my experience has taught me. His love and thoughtfulness left completely speechless on my birthday and it touched my heart so very deeply.

I'm resolving to try to do that more, to listen deeply, to try and hear the words unsaid by those around me. To convey the sense of "I hear you, I hear your heart" even when some of those words go unspoken. I have a lot to learn, but I see a wonderful example of what can be achieved when I look at my lovely man.