In the little yard two paces beyond her, the man was washing himself, utterly unaware. He was naked to the hips, his velveteen breeches slipping down over his slender loins. And his white slim back was curved over a big bowl of soapy water, in which he ducked his head, shaking his head with a queer, quick little motion, lifting his slender white arms, and pressing the soapy water from his ears, quick, subtle as a weasel playing with water, and utterly alone.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover by DH Lawrence

My List:
1. The way he builds a fire when he notices that I am getting chilly.
2. The way he lifts heavy things so I don’t have to.
3. The way he pulls the covers up to keep me warm during the night and how he moves his arm to let me snuggle in and put my head on his chest.
4. The way he takes me into his arms to dance around the room when he hears one of our favorite songs.
5. The way he smiles when I call him by his special name.
6. The way he gives me a bouquet of roses for no particular reason.
7. The way he puts his leg on a stool and dries it off after a shower.
8. The way he gently handles his old leather billfold so he can keep on using it.
9. The way he offers to get me something when he is going into the kitchen to fix something for himself.
10. The way he always takes my hand when we watch a movie or to steady me when we are hiking on a rough trail.

Hopefully 2021 will bring a man to me who has some of these qualities, or has a completely different set of beautiful qualities I have yet to imagine!

Photograph © David Dodds