i was sitting here at my computer posting a blog entry when i asked joe to get a pen out of one of my office supply storage boxes in my office closet. i kept typing, not thinking anything of it.

“i love you,” joe says.

i look up from my screen, puzzled at this out-of-the-blue comment, but i replied, “i love you too.”

then i saw this look on joe’s face, and i knew what i had done. i sent him rummaging through my closet forgetting that the photo collage i had made for him for our one-year anniversary was hidden there.

i burst into tears and, burying my head against his shoulder, cried for several minutes. i was so upset. i had worked so hard to surprise him, and i had ruined it. when i looked up at joe i noticed his eyes looked a little red around the edges.

“that’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me,” he said.

and at that moment my surprise didn’t seem so ruined anymore.