Earlier this week a friend shared with me about his efforts to woo a woman. It was quite thoughtful and well planned, especially coming from a 57-year old man. So when I heard friends of mine were traveling many miles to visit for an evening, I thought about how I too could put together a well thought out plan to show my love for my friends. The wife just received a clean report from the doctor on her cancer, the husband relieved and wanting to take time in each other’s company to see the countryside. They were new to my neck of the woods, so I wanted to show them a piece of my everyday paradise. I looked into the weather for the day and timed out a trip to a nearby island. As we crossed a mile long bridge to get there, the sun was setting over the glistening water. Talk about marvelous. It was so beautiful to see white trails following the boats and sparkling water under a clear sky. We drove to a remote white sand beach with clear blue water spreading out as far as the eye could see. We were staring out into the gulf with sea gulls flying overhead as the sand squished beneath us. The sun was still drifting into the west as we watched the waves roll in under an orange sky and soon night was falling. We traveled to a popular restaurant on the island and my friends took in Florida’s ‘traditional fishy’ food. After dinner we crossed the bridge back to the mainland. I had originally timed out that we would catch fireworks on display over the water from a downtown celebration, but after closing the restaurant down with our late night conversation, the sky was pure black with sparkling stars overhead and a bright moon lighting up outlined waves. It was a memorable night and I actually felt good about really planning out how I could show my love instead of just letting the cards fall into place (like I usually do) and afterward wishing I would have done this and this and this and that.