Love Shenanigans

/ roughwighting

http://pacman.wikia.com/wiki/Ms._Pac-ManShenanigans – silly or high-spirited behavior; mischief.

One of my blogging buddies told on himself right before Christmas – his wife likes her holiday decorations just a “certain way,” but this year, while she was working late, he put up the Santa Clauses and angels, the holly and trimmings, his way, before she came home.

Expecting a reprimand when she walked through the door, he was greeted instead with relief and a huge hugging thanks.

A successful shenanigan!

I commented on heylookawriterfeller’s blog that his shenanigan was successful because his wife loved him.

He commented back that “Love is all about putting up with shenanigans.”

I replied, “Love IS shenanigans.”

And then immediately I heard angelic harp music in the background of my brain as goose bumps traveled up my spine, and my soul got hit with an ‘aha’ moment.

LOVE IS SHENANIGANS.

No other emotion causes us to act so silly, to become so high-spirited with a mischievous glint in our eyes, and to act totally out of character…more than L O V E.

When I first met my guy, I’d been scorched/burned/defeated after an unsuccessful relationship. I made a pact with myself. NO MORE DATING. EVER.

I would be self-reliant and satisfied, single and successful, resilient and radiant with NO MAN in my life.

A month later, a friend introduced me to a guy, a confirmed bachelor who was moving to the other coast within a week.

Safe, I thought.

But he played a shenanigan on me. He popped popcorn in his fireplace and talked about philosophy and friendships, goals and failures, football and The Nutcracker (uh huh).http://giochi.tuttogratis.it/news/buon-compleanno-pacman/P32559/

Then he canceled his move for months and drove hours to visit me; he changed my tires and taught me how to play Pac Man (anyone remember Pac Man?).

Do you get the point? He “shenaniganed” me.

Next thing I knew, on April Fool’s day I was hiding shaving cream inside his loafers, so when he left for work in the morning, white foam crawled out of the crevices of his shoes.

love, shenanigan, mirror, messagesHe left me messages on the bathroom mirror – with toothpaste.

I hid freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies in his briefcase, so when he arrived at work, the gooey concoction brought all of his co-workers to his desk, oohing and ahhing.

The shenanigans sent me into a tail spin, because they could only mean one thing.

We were in love.

I tried to stop the shenanigans, but they continued, and got so bad that he proposed and I accepted.

Shenaniganed by love.

Think back to those who you’ve shared a shenanigan or two with.

And then thank your lucky stars that you are the recipient of such friendship and love.

Here’s to a NEW YEAR full of shenanigans in your life!

Images thanks to Google. Mirror love thanks to my guy.

49 thoughts on “Love Shenanigans”

  1. Shenanigans is such a funny word isn’t it! It’s one of those words that just makes you smile when you hear it. Shenanigans, shenanigans, shenanigans 🙂 🙂 🙂 It’s like scamp. Scamp, scamp, scamp 🙂 🙂 🙂 Both imply a bit of naughtiness, but in a totally forgivable way. When my daughter was little she was at school with a boy called Billy Scamp which I just thought was the best name ever and should totally be a character in a children’s book. Anyway, enough of these shenanigans! Ha! And yes you’re right, that IS what love is.

    Like

    • What a scampi thought. Wait, isn’t scampi a shrimp dish? Well, shrimp always look like they’re in the middle of shenanigans, don’t they? I agree, Billy Scamp should be the name of a minor character in a book. The teasing one, the one who’s mischievous and always getting the main character into trouble.
      Have a scampi, salacious, sumptuous and satisfying 2015!

      Like

  2. Love is all about laughter and having fun. When I met my Englishman, he introduced me to Monty Python and we have been laughing ever since. It has got us through all the tough times. XO

    Like

  3. Oh I love this, and he really did shenanigan you good and proper didn’t he – popcorn and philosophy by the light and warmth of a fire… Sounds like your AHA detector was on the ball, I love this insight. Makes me remember a few shenanigans I’ve played myself…may 2015 be full of love and…shenanigans! 🙂 Love and hugs, H xxx

    Like

  4. I well remember some of the shenanigans of love. I met my wife in the May of a certain year after I’d interviewed her for a job. I asked for and got a date but by the end of the third date felt sure about her.
    I asked what she was looking for in a relationship ( no way was I going to propose if she wanted short term fun). She responded by asking me the same. I tried again saying “I asked first” until she finally answered she was looking for long term commitment and marriage. I proposed, she accepted and we married in the November of that same year.
    We’d been married 27 years when I lost my best pal and my lover to cancer and I miss the shenanigans.
    You’re right Pamela, it’s what Love is all about.
    xxx Massive Hugs xxx

    Like

    • You two shenaniganed each other right from the beginning, with ‘you tell me,’ ‘no, you tell ME.’ And yet you both already knew the answer – that you had love ahead of you. I figured from the way you’ve blogged about your best pal that both of you loved to shenanigan. To memories and gratefulness in 2015, my friend. xoxHUGHUGxox

      Like

    • As you follow through on your ‘weighty’ resolutions, I bet the shenanigans will grow exponentially! 🙂

      Thanks so much for re-blogging my post on your weight in on life site – loved seeing it there.

      Like

  8. Love it! A wonderful love story should be full of shenanigans! My honey hides things on me to show he loves me…I will have our 2 dinner plates set out ready to pick up, run to answer the phone – ot whatever – and there will be only 1 plate as he stands there looking angelic. I then go thru a game of hot and cold til I find it! He also hides my reading glasses, keys, etc – I tell him as long as he plays these games, I know he loves me! Shenanigans are the best. Happy New Year to You and may it be full of loving shenanigans!

    Like

    • Isn’t it funny, but true? “Keep up the practical jokes – that way I know how much you love me.” I can see the twinkle in your guy’s eyes as he hides your scarf and mittens this winter. But I KNOW he’ll keep you warm.

      Like

  13. Shenanigans – funny sounding when you say it out loud – it starts you giggling right then and there. This is a wonderful reminder to me that we should not always take life so seriously. Sure, there are times for remaining on the straight and narrow. And there are already times carved out for doing just that at our place of employment and other “formal” settings. There don’t seem to be as many times reserved for silliness and – ahem – mischief 😉

    You have a way of taking a rather ordinary occurrence and peeling back layers of the onion to find what lays beneath it. Wonderful and thought-provoking post that will have me looking for opportunities to be a bit more silly. I have a feeling I could use it 🙂 Thanks for sharing and may your 2015 also be filled with many love shenanigans!

    Like

    • Laughing through love (and through the best AND the worst times). Not an easy feat. Takes patience, but after looking at photos of your yard, I know you have lots of it flowering all over. 🙂

      Like

  21. Love shenanigan stories and yours are awesome! Never say never! 😉
    My hubby has been up to a few himself as well as me to him. (bad grammar I know) LOL! And we still have our moments 28 years later….

    Like

Comments are closed.