Wednesday, November 17, 2010

The Jewelry Box

It was hidden in a small white box that I picked up and examined closely.

“What is it?” I asked Tom over Skype.

“You have to wait until Christmas,” he answered.

“But,” I complained. “I’m not sure I can.” I am not a patient person when it comes to presents.

“You can wait,” Tom said. “Put the box down and just forget about it until Christmas.”

I shot him a Look. How did he expect me to forget about a present? Was he insane? Did he know me at all?!

“Oh fine,” Tom relented. “You can open it.”

Did I hear him right? Did he say I could—I immediately started opening the box before he changed his mind.

I found this.



“It’s beautiful,” I breathed, running my hand over the smooth service.

It took me a few minutes to figure out how to open the thing.



“Where’s the hole?” I grumbled, but then I brightened. “That what he said!”

Tom rolled his eyes. “You’re a nerd.” He explained how to open it and when I did, I found this:



“You wrote me a letter,” I said, surprised. I picked up the piece of paper. It wasn’t just a short letter either. Tom’s familiar penmanship stared back up at me and I started to read.

“So do you like—” Tom began.

I lifted up a finger. “Shh. I’m reading what you wrote.”

A few minutes later I looked at Tom, with tears in my eyes. “It was very sweet. Thank you. I love when you show your sweet side. Doesn’t it feel great?”

Tom made a face and scratched an inappropriate part of his body.

Here’s part of the letter...

I love you more than any words could ever describe…..you are my beautiful wife. It has been 9 years now that we have been married…and I have loved you every day for those 9 years. I can never thank you enough for the sacrifices you have made in support of my job…the two birds on the boxes are you and me, always faithful and together. I love you forever....

“Thank you, so much Tom. Really,” I told him.

Only now Natalie keeps trying to steal my box. She hugs it to her chest and goes, “This is mine.” I explain that no, actually it’s not and then she huffs off and gives me dirty looks for like an hour.

So Tom thinks it might be wise to get Natalie her first jewelry box. They make smaller ones.

And as for the letter? I think I’ll always have it in the box. So I’ll always remember.

And also, because if he royally pisses me off when he’s back from Korea, I can maybe read it and think, “He’s not an ass after all.”

57 comments:

  1. Wow...major brownie points for him. I think he just made up for all those times he doesn't put his laundry in the hamper (or is that your son?). Either way, what an awesome, amazing gift. One you will cherish forever. And I agree, leave the letter in it. That way you know where to go whenever you need a word of encouragement or a breathe of love.

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  2. I would NEVER have been able to wait until Christmas. That would've been torture!

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  3. Your Tom is a sweetie :-) (And like you, I could not have waited until Christmas!)

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  4. And also...2 in the hand, is worth more than one in the bush.

    If you know what I mean.

    Which hopefully you do, because I don't have any idea.

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  5. Now you made me shed a tear, and the gift is stunning.

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  7. oh goodness!
    so sweet.. one lucky gal you are!!

    and what a beautiful box too!!

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  8. So sweet! And the box is beautiful!!! But isn't it just like kids to take your stuff lol.

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  9. awwww. he is super romantic overseas huh?

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  10. SO SWEET! And its beautiful too!

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  11. hahah, you are funny! that is so sweet of your husband!!! how cute.

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  12. Wow, this made me cry today! How sweet.

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  13. When both my father-in-law and mother-in-law passed away this last year, I found a box very similar to yours with the same type of lock. It took a dickens of a time to figure out how to open it, since the key was not with the box, but when I finally managed to get it open, it was full of love letters from my FIL to my MIL back when he was in the service 57 years earlier. The letters are priceless and I was able to see a glimpse of the love he had for her, even though he turned into a grumpy old man!!!

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  14. The box is lovely. And how sweet is the note. I love a note more than almost anything!

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  15. Aww man, making me cry at my desk at work is so NOT cool, but worth it. You might have to keep him.

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  16. That's so great...
    I love a gift of words from the heart.
    And the box isn't too shabby either. :)

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  17. That's so great...
    I love a gift of words from the heart.
    And the box isn't too shabby either. :)

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  18. My Hubs isn't super-romantic either, so I LOVE it wh3en he writes me letters! The box is also lovely!

    Good job, Tom!

    And Good Job, Amber! You're a great wife/mama. :)

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  19. You get to look forward to him filling it up.

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  20. what a sweet and thoughtful gift!! I love when J writes me sweet notes =)

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  21. Okay I just had a mini heart attack. My dad gave my grandmother this exact jewelery box when he returned from Korea. It is now back with him and he keeps her earrings inside of it.

    Its beautiful :)

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  22. Awwwww....suhhh-weet TOM!! Love it!

    btw...I linked up to your blog yesterday...teehee....I told you I would!

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  23. Wow! What a marvelous and loving thing for him to do. That made me choke up a little. So sweet!

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  24. Sad, sweet, and funny, all rolled into one!

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  25. Now that's my kinda gift. Beautiful and thoughtful. Tom done good!

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  26. So sweet. It's always great when they can surprise you like that...emotionally speaking.

    And hey, I've been married for 9 years now too.

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  27. Now that's what I call a romantic gift. Did you tell him you were writing about this? So, you know, he can come read it, see our comments and feel really good?

    Because he should

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  28. How romantic....at one point in time I wouldve wanted to stomp on your toe lol...but I know that men like Tom do exist.

    Lucky you!!!

    The box is beautiful!

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  29. I soooooooooo LOVE this!
    I sent my husband a link to this so he could read about the idea and hopefully do something similar!
    I'm a new follower!

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  30. What a sweet, wonderful gesture. However will he top that next year? :)

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  31. Oh Amber!!!

    I always knew there was a romantic side to him! Keep him. He'll always surprise you.

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  32. So sweet! It is amazing that men can sometimes show their emotional side when you least expect it. I think you definitely want to get Natalie her own box before she jacks yours!

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  33. The jewelry box, the letter and your love for each other is so beautiful!!

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  34. Now that is romantic. But where are the diamond earrings?

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  35. Oh that is so sweet! What a romantic gift and so thoughtful. Seems like she really needs her own!

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  36. Can Tom schedule a skype classroom to teach our romantically challenged husbands how it's done? My hubs could use some guidance. I would cherish a love note like it was written on a gold bar.

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  37. That is so utterly sweet. Years and years from now, the letter would be probably worn and there might be cracks along the folds, but each time you'll read it, the feelings would be the same as the first time you read it. :)

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  38. Aww, that's very sweet! My birthday is coming up on Saturday and I'll be lucky if he remembers to buy a card at all. And yes, he's also one of those that taps the card and says it's all in there and he shouldn't need to write anything else.

    Also, how Do you open that? I found a jewelry box like that at my grandmother's while we were cleaning after she passed. The lock is off of it right now, so we can get into the jewelry box, but we cannot figure out how to open the lock at all to put it back on and have everything all together! It would be great to be able to know how to work it.

    -Hope (hope.mueller@gmail.com)

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  39. Awesome story. The part about the birds representing the 2 of you almost made me cry!

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  40. I love this soooo much. I have tears in my eyes (I am SUCH A SAP LATELY!!!) but this is just beautiful. Bravo. He did good :)

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  41. That is awesome. How very sweet.

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  42. Thanks. Now you made me cry and all my sniffling is freaking out my cat.

    Your husband is a keeper!!!! All men have their "ass" moments. Not all men have truly wonderful souls! You're blessed!

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  43. Did he send that jewelry box from Korea? Reason I'm asking is that my mother has a similar one sitting on her bureau that my Dad sent her when he was a dog handler for the Army in Korea....
    It is an incredibly sweet gift!

    Now let's just hope he doesn't ship home a monster stereo (3 local specialties- jewelry boxes, cameras and stereos). 35 years later, Dad still has his- and it takes up an entire wall in the living room- I shudder to think how much room it would take up in base housing. Although you can always hope that the stereos have gotten smaller in 35 years....

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  44. That is so sweet ... The two birds on the boxes are you and me, always faithful and together. Completely romantic!!!

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  45. The box is gorgeous, and your Tom is sweet. For all that you say he never does stuff like that, he sure seems to do stuff like that all the time! Now. . . is he going to get you another present so you can open it on Christmas?

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  46. My MIL is Korean and she has the exact same box! Or one very similar, with the red and blue tassel hanging of the key. She gave it to me when I married her son.

    It is gorgeous and your hubs is very sweet..

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