Attitude of Gratitude – The Odes

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I have talked about how important it is to be grateful for your marriage and your spouse.  You can check out that post here.  So how can you let your spouse know you appreciate them?

As a writer, I am a lover of words, so using them is appealing to me.  Here is an idea that I use to show my gratitude to my husband.  You do not have to be a writer to do this.  But this is a fun way to build my husband up and I want to share it with you.

I write my husband a series of “odes”.  What is an ‘ode’, you ask?  An ode is defined as “a lyric poem in the form of an address to a particular subject, often elevated in style or manner and written in varied or irregular meter” or “a poem meant to be sung”.  Since my singing is not really the best, I settle for doing the writing.

Each ode (or poem) is for a particular attribute of my husband that I am thankful for.  Here is an example of one:

Ode to Your Kindness

You are good to pets, you are good to kids,

Isn’t that what kindness is?

True, but it is so much more,

Pulling out a chair, opening a door.

It’s the frustration that dispels from your hug,

It’s the humor you show when you are bugged.

It’s the kiss on the forehead just to show you care,

It’s the smile that you give to the misbehaving pair.

I love your kindness in every way,

And that is what I appreciate today!

I have done odes for character attributes and also for physical attributes.  The odes to the elbow and little toe were particularly memorable.

The great thing about this is that there is no end to the material you can use.  The odes are sometimes humorous, sometimes intimate, and always give my husband a boost for that day.  No matter how small the part or how obvious the characteristic, I let my husband know that I am thinking about him and appreciate him.

What can you do today to let your spouse know how grateful you are for them?

-Loraine Nunley