Yes. You have to let some things go. But in time, you’ll find that the new things you get to enjoy with your partner bring renewed holiday magic, rather than repetitive holiday happenings that are special simply because they’re comfortable.
This week, find something to celebrate with your significant other. If you’re working through The Ford Method during a time of year where there are no major holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Ramadan, find something else to celebrate!
Is it March? Congratulations! St. Patrick’s Day is now your favorite holiday. Get all decked out in green and find ways to celebrate.
Is it Easter? Plan an egg hunt, make a basket, and have fun.
Are you in the weird part of the late summer where there are no real holidays? Celebrate national whatever-the-hell-made-up-day is on the calendar. It doesn’t matter if it’s national gummy bear day. That’s your holiday. Go all-in.
Make it a surprise for your partner. Have fun with it. Enjoy life together.
19
RYAN
PERFECT TEN
“How’s it going, bookworm?” I asked as I came up behind Willow and laid my hands on her shoulders.
She had been parked at the kitchen table for most of the morning, working on a new book. But for the last hour, she had been staring out the window at the willow tree.
“It’s going,” she said as she stretched her arms and rolled her wrists. “Starting a new project is always a little bumpy.”
“It probably helps to actually look at the document instead of out the window.”
“I was thinking,” she bristled. “I have to do a lot of that to write a book. Staring out the window is an important part of my workday.” She closed her laptop with a little more attitude than necessary. “What about you? Did you finish masterminding today’s batch of relationships?”
Okay. So she was a little testy today. I could work with that. Testy was better than the state of melancholy she had been in since her friends left Kansas. Apathy was the antithesis of progress. And I needed to makea lotof progress with Willow Winslet.
“Three client coaching sessions, edited next week’s podcast episode, scheduled some social media content for the next two weeks, and told a company to stop being cheap if they wanted me to accept their brand deal.”
“Geez,” she muttered under her breath. “How long have I been sitting here?”
“It’s three in the afternoon.” Since I kept my coaching sessions confidential, I had worked from the bedroom with the door closed so Willow could move about the rest of the house.
She groaned and raked her hands through her hair. “I thought it was still before lunch.”
“Do you have anything pressing going on for the rest of the day? Meetings or calls or anything?”
Willow shook her head.
“Good.” I turned to get a pair of shoes. “We’re going out.”
Willow spun in her seat, eyes tracking me as I moved around the room. “Why?”
“Because you’ve barely left the house in two weeks.”
“I’m a novelist. Barely leaving the house is a necessary personality trait.”
“Shoes on, cupcake,” I hollered as I jogged into the bedroom. “We’re going out whether you like it or not. It’s a holiday.”
I heard her laugh as I stuffed my wallet and phone in my pocket.
“Unless you celebrate different holidays than I do, there’s no holiday on August fourth,” Willow grumbled as she slid on her trusty Chucks. She was in the short overalls and the cropped tee she had been in the day we met up for pierogies and hot chocolate.
Those overalls made her ass look fucking phenomenal.
I watched as Willow pulled her hair out of the two French braids she had put it in yesterday, letting it down in waves. Thepale pink curls were shadowed with dark roots since she hadn’t taken time to color her hair.
