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Friday 31 October 2014

Unconventional Gifts of Love

By Rose Dee


In days of old, men would write poetry to their beloved, or pen prose to make the heart sing and swoon. Artists would paint pictures. Romantics would send flowers. All these gifts were intended to delight and entrance the beloved.  My beloved has recently delighted me with a somewhat unconventional gift of love: A deck.

Since we began building our bush camp, I have wanted—desired—a deck. A place where I could sit and while away the day. A place where I could write, read, or work. A place just above the bird bath where all the native animals would come and visit me. The best view in the camp.

You can imagine my delight when I arrived at the camp last week and my deck was sitting waiting for me, complete with its own bench seat, nibbles table, shade sail, and flower pots. My husband (along with his good mate, a big believer in the attributes of outdoor spaces) had spent countless hours  constructing my new deck.

My new place of peace couldn't have come at a better time for me. I was feeling very down, and the sight of my deck lifted my spirits. But my spirits were also lifted by the gift of love, the thought and effort the boys put into the job. It was a great sacrifice and I felt as though my husband had really heard me, and set out to show me he loved me.

Gifts of love come in many forms. Sometimes they are the obvious ones, and sometimes they are outside the expected. For me, no poetry, flowers, or other grand gesture would come close what my husband made for me—my deck, my own little part of the world to enjoy.

Have you ever received an unconventional gift of love? Please share it with us in the comments. 

About Rose Dee 

Rose, who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree, was born in North Queensland, Australia. Her childhood experiences growing up in a small beach community would later provide inspiration for her first novel, Back to Resolution.

Her novels are inspired by the love of her coastal home and desire to produce exciting and contemporary stories of faith for women. Beyond Resolution and A New Resolution are the second and third books in the Resolution series.

Rose’s debut novel Back to Resolution won the Bookseller’s Choice award at the 2012 CALEB Awards, while A New Resolution won the 2013 CALEB Prize for Fiction. She has also released The Greenfield Legacy, a collaborative novel, written in conjunction with three other outstanding Australian authors.

Rose resides in Mackay, North Queensland with her husband, young son, and mischievous pup, Noodle.


13 comments:

  1. My husband has written a poem or two for me from time to time. He is not into writing so that is very special. Also one day he came in from outside with the first sweet pea of the season because he knows how much I love them and their perfume. Little things when compared to a deck but very special, just the same. Have fun with your deck Rose.

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    1. A poem would be so romantic, Dale. What a beautiful gift. I think you are very lucky.
      And I am too. I'm up at the camp enjoying my view right now. ☺

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  2. How lovely, Rose. Trying hard to think of unconventional here! Can't. Only that I'm told several times a day that I am loved. I'll settle for that.

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    1. That's a pretty great thing to settle on, Rita.

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  3. Beautiful deck, Rose. I'm sure those lady recipients of flowers and poems in the olden days might have preferred one too, if only they'd known.
    Hmm, my husband once gave me a recording of a song, Billy Joel's "You're my Home" sung by him. He'd got together with his cousin, who is also a musician, to put it together. Although it's made many listeners laugh over the years, it was certainly an original and thoughtful gift.

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    1. I can just picture one of the romantic poets' loves saying: 'He could have just built me a deck.' Lol.
      A recording is a pretty hard act to follow. That's very cool.

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  4. Lovely post, Rose :) Your decks looks amazing and a lovely place to relax and write. Enjoy!

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    1. Thanks, Narelle. I turned up today and it's improved. Now it has a brand new shade sail and several strings of fairy lights. Can't wait to see it lit up tonight. ☺

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  5. What a lovely gift! Thrilled for you, Rose. May you have many hours of enjoyment :)

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    1. Thanks, Andrea. I have actually been enjoying it all weekend. :-)

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  6. Gorgeous deck and what an amazing gift. May it bring you many hours of joy.

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    1. Thank you, Melissa. It's the gift that keeps giving.

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  7. I loved this post, Rose! Thanks for sharing your romantic gift with us. I can't wait to see more and more pics as you put it to great use over the summer.

    My Beloved once gave me a homemade voucher for 'time.' A week to run away and write at our beach house. I took that week and have squeezed out a few more since then. Precious and much appreciated by me. As I'm sure you are of your heartfelt deck gift. :)

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