Love is a funny thing. One day you are head over heels, ready to die for your partner, then a few years pass by and your love life feels like a routine. Your daily activities become mundane and all you end up doing is the same thing- getting up, going to work and coming back home to sleep. Erik and Brittany Mallasch of Anchorage, Alaska needed a change from their monotonous lifestyle…
Unexpected Gesture
One fine day, Erik stopped his wife from getting ready to go for work. As she was already getting ready, she found this request quite amusing as he had never asked her to do such a thing. She was actually laughing at his strange request. Why would he all of a sudden tell her something like this? He unexpectedly gave her a tiny bag with not a present in it. She was quite surprised.
Routine
If anyone has been in a long steady relationship, you would understand that sometimes, life tends to get a little boring and dull. Since you have been together for a long time, it’s easy to fall into a routine and to feel like the things you do for each other are just duties. So the romance and the thrill of it all sometimes loses its essence.
Erik And Brittany
If you ask this couple, they will tell you that they are fairly aware of this transition that takes places in a relationship. For Erik Mallasch and his wife, Brittany who live in Anchorage, Alaska, this change in their personal life was something that could not be silently ignored. In the end, this inspired Erik to finally do something surprising.
Dedicated To Family Needs
These two had been dating for a while and decided to take their relationship one step further by marrying each other back in the year 2006. They are now proud parents of three young children. Erik and Brittany, are now devoted parents, who spend most of their time trying to better their family’s livelihood and providing their basic necessities.
Change In Priority
So just like most parents, these two slowly became more concerned about their kids, putting the effort that needed to be put on their love life on hold. They would prioritize their work more than themselves and their relationship because all they cared about was making their kids happy. As man and wife, their love life was slowly starting to dull down.
The Naked Carpenter
Erik is someone who is truly unique and different from typical dads. He worked as a carpenter while taking care of his very own YouTube channel. On YouTube, he took up the name and works as ‘The Naked Carpenter’. He loves his craft and would do anything to provide for his family. Carpentry had always been an important part of his life.
His YouTube Channel
So for his YouTube channel. Erik would spend the majority of mornings documenting himself. He would then film the progress he made just, taking his viewers along on the journey where he created things for his friends, family, and clients. Erik loves his job very much and he enjoyed bringing along people on his quest for creating stuff.
Creating And Entertaining
Since his dedication and talent was so transparent on his channel, it was no surprise that Erik garnered quite a lot of YouTube followers over the course of a few years. His unique and creative creations were also the main attraction for the fans that flocked to his channel as it was entertaining and informative too. Erik truly enjoyed being handy and using his hands to create.
A Surprise
Since his viewers were so used to seeing him get hands-on with his works, building, tearing things apart, constructing and attaching, Erik gave them something to be surprised about. Not one of his YouTube followers were ready to witness his most amazing creation to date. It was certainly something they were not used to seeing him do.
Not Enough Time
So like the caring and innovative husband and father, Erik was, he realized that he had been slacking off in terms of spending quality time with his family. Even though all that he did was for the sake of his family’s happiness, he was well aware that he had not actually spent time having fun with his wife and kids as he is supposed to.
For Dear Brittany
His wife Brittany and he had been so caught up in their work trying to earn for their kids that they had somehow stopped paying attention to each other. He could not even remember that last time they did something special for each other. Then Erik came up with a brilliant idea when he decided to do something worthwhile for his dear wife.
Not Carpentry
Erik was a very talented carpenter and he knew he could easily build something for his wife to show her his appreciation. However, he as a very hands-on man wanting to try something different this time and not just rely on his obvious skills. He did not tell Brittany about his special plans and worked on delivering this to perfection for her.
What Brittany Wants
Since they had not paid much heed to each other’s needs for so long, Erik wanted to make sure this surprise surpassed everything he ever did for his loving wife. He wanted to do something that his wife would actually want instead of doing something he thought she would want. Erik was not about to put his own views or perceptions above what Brittany would have preferred.
Finally, A Plan
After heavy thinking, Erik came up with a plan that he thought would be bulletproof. He was quite confident about his decision making and was sure that Brittany would certainly find happiness when he reveals his hidden plan. After careful assessment, Erik decided it was time to put his plans into motion and decided to work on it quickly.
It’s Time!
As he started off with his plans, he was quite excited. He could barely stop himself from grinning after initiating his plans. Since he knew it was going to make his wife happy, Erik could not wait to tell Brittany, to reveal what he had in store for her. After he took ample time to work things out, it was finally crunch time. Erik was ready to reveal his surprise to Brittany, his wife.
To The Bathroom
When the day came for the revelations, Erik was a little nervous but also extremely excited too. He began collecting a few random important stuff from their home. After doing this, he made his way to the bathroom where Brittany was. She was getting ready to go to work and had just finished taking a shower. She did not suspect anything yet…
No Expectations
When we plan something big for a loved one, we usually find ourselves overwhelmingly excited and anxious. This was the same case for carpenter Erik. He had been planning to give his wife a surprise as a token of his appreciation. Until now, no one knows just what he had in store for her. Brittany was not expecting anything to happen that morning…
A Strange Request
Since Erik and Brittany had not paid that much attention to each other, when he approached her that random morning, Brittany could not contain her laughter. It was very strange for him to come up to her if it was not regarding household queries. And on top of all that, to make everything even stranger, Erik had asked her to not show up for work that day too.
Random Clues
Brittany was still giggling when her husband was throwing this weird behavior on her in the bathroom. She thought he was kidding and just pulling her leg. But he went on to confuse her, even more, when he started handing her random objects from the house. They were actually cues to his big surprise and Brittany was still no doubt unaware of his plans…
A Small Brown Bag
All this behavior was confusing Brittany so much. She was just minding her business, getting ready to go to work just like her usual days. When Erik gave her a tiny brown bag, her curiosity spiked and she wondered why her husband would randomly hand her this. He had maintained his secret and his unsuspecting wife was soon to find out…
What’s In The Bag?
Brittany stared cluelessly at the bag which Erik had handed to her. She was a little nervous to open up the bag because she did not have the faintest clue as to what lay inside. After Erik reassured her that there was nothing to be afraid or nervous about, Brittany could finally find the courage to slip her hand into the bag to see what it had…
A Pink Note
When she finally decided that she should open up the bad, what did dear Brittany find? In the brown bag that Erik handed over to Brittany was a tiny, pink note! What could this pink note be and why was her husband giving this to her on this random day?
Because Of Erik’s Writing
So when she took out the pink note, Brittany’s day was about to be even more eventful and richer than it already was. Why? you ask. Well, it was again all because of Erik. Brittany’s day was going to be one memorable one because of what Erik had written on the pink piece of paper he kept inside the brown bag. So what did he write?
What’s Going On?
It was his gift that announced him offering her a $500 in “spending cash!” This was just a tiny portion of what her husband had planned for her. Even though Brittany appreciated the money and was really glad about it, she still could not wrap her head around what her husband’s actual plans were. What was happening and what did this mean?
What’s His Plan?
She was questioning her husband’s behavior because, for years, they had not been spontaneous or adventurous this way. It was not her birthday nor was it their anniversary which made Brittany even more confused. As her curiosity and confusion grew more and more, Brittany finally decided to find out what Erik’s plans were that day…
Neck Pillow!
The 500 bucks he left in the bag was not the only thing inside the tiny brown bag. There was something else for her. When she inspected the bag, even more, she found that there was a bright green neck pillow. Why was this here and why would she need this at this time of the day? 500 dollars and a neck pillow certainly do not go hand in hand, or do they?
After 12 Years Together
Brittany was wondering what came upon her husband to be doing all this at this point in their marriage. She felt as though it was some cruel practical joke that Erik was planning to play on her. For 12 years in their marriage, he had never done anything like this so she was not wrong to question his intentions. After all, who just randomly hands their wife money and pillows…?
The Next Clue
So after giving her two clues that lead to his final surprise, Erik decided to give her another clue. Seeing his wife look dazed and confused was certainly entertaining for him but he remembered his original plan. He could not be sidetracked no matter how pleasurable it was seeing his wife churn with curiosity. He then handed Brittany her passport.
Passport Means?
After she was handed her passport, things started to make a little more sense for Brittany. She could finally grasp what was happening which made her feel a lot better. If you have to use your passport, it almost usually always means one thing. However, there was yet another detail that Erik could not leave out regarding his surprise for Brittany…
Finally Gets It
There were other clues in the bag and by the time Brittany had made it to the last clue her husband kept in it, she could not believe what her husband had planned for her. She never in a million years expected her husband to have gone through such an extent to prove his appreciation for her. His odd behavior that morning was beginning to make sense…
His Game Plan
Even though she was very surprised to hear when Erik told her “you’re not going to work today!”, Brittany was now aware of where he was coming from. She could not stop smiling at all the clues he left for her to discover in the little bag now made sense.
Officially Announcing
After such a hectic and confusing morning, it was finally time for Erik to tell her the secret he wanted to surprise her with. The real revelation was finally taking place. “I just took 10 days off, and we’re sending you to Germany,” he shouted with utter excitement. He had always wanted to give her a time off from the duties she had as a wife and a mother.
Another Big Surprise
So when this was revealed to Brittany, to say that she was shocked would be an understatement. There was yet another big surprise that would make her smile grow wider. She was not going to Germany alone. In fact, she was actually going to travel with her best friend. Her husband knew how strong their bond was so he was certain this would make her ecstatic.
BFFs Traveling
So like Erik had told her, Brittany got to travel to one of the most gorgeous places in the world, that too with her best friend! We all know how lonely it can get if you travel alone so when Brittany realized she was getting to do this with her closest friend, she could not believe it. Since she had been working non-stop for years, she indeed deserved some time off.
Sooner Than Expected
And to top everything that took place that morning, Brittany found out that she was actually going to travel sooner than she expected. Erik told her that her tickets had already been booked so she had to hurry up a bit. She knew she was going to Germany now but she did not know the timing yet. It was quicker than she anticipated.
Erik’s Got It Covered
To her surprise, the flight that was going to take her to Germany was going in less than 24 hours! But Brittany did not have anything to worry about because her super-husband had everything under control. He had planned the whole day to be spent together as a family and when the time came for her to get to the airport he would personally drop her there.
Not To Worry
Erik did not want his wife to worry because she was going to have to be apart with their kids for some time when she goes to Germany. But he reassured her that he had everything under control and that she should just enjoy her time there. “So you fly to Germany tomorrow morning at 3 a.m.,” he went on, “and I’m gonna watch the kids.”
A Few Tears Shed
For a loving mother, it would certainly be a little terrifying to have to leave her kids behind to go to a foreign country. Any concerned parent would worry about how their kids would be when they cannot take care of them. Brittany’s tears began to well up after realizing that she was going to have to be away from her family soon.
A Special Gift Indeed
It was not a surprise to see that Erik’s big secret proved to be a successful one. Brittany was overjoyed to be able to travel to a land she had never been before. It was truly sweet and considerate of him to spend time planning and perfecting a gift for his efficient wife to be able to enjoy Germany. The surprise he managed to give her was indeed special.
A Necessity
We can all relate to the fact that life gets hard sometimes, that things do not go our own way. But during these trying times, it’s crucial to be able to do something like this for a loved one. Erik had wanted to give his wife something she needed after all the hard work and sacrifices she has given for her family. Do you think you could do the same for your partner?