Jason Hewlett, a happily married professional entertainer with four children, was waiting in a checkout queue when he noticed a beautiful woman ahead of him.
In that moment of instant physical attraction, Jason felt an uncomfortable pang of guilt and feared that he had ’sort of cheated’ on his wife.
As he says in his Facebook post:
I was at Target getting a few manly things, you know — eyebrow tweezers, toenail clippers, beard trimmers, mustache molding waxes, some beef jerky, sardines, trail mix, a loofah — and as I went to pay I saw this woman in line that knocked me out. I thought, ’Wow, some lucky guy is with her!’
Jason Hewlett
Then, a split second later, he realized the woman was actually his wife who, as fate would have it, was shopping at the same store at exactly the same time.
Jason contemplated getting her attention, but instead stood back and silently observed her as she paid for her shopping and left, oblivious to her awestruck husband who was coming to a profound realization that was later to form the basis of a super sweet Facebook post.
First off, I was taken aback by how amazingly beautiful she is once again. I believe I see it often, but today, not knowing she was at the store, I saw her with new eyes and just couldn’t believe I get to be her fella.
Second, it amazed me that she didn’t notice me in the slightest. This is both a good and a bad thing. Good in that she doesn’t have a wandering eye. But it was also bad because I realized how close I came to not ever winning her love in the first place, and the herculean efforts I had to make all those years ago to even get her attention just to say yes to one date! For a minute I felt that familiar grief of doom when I first saw her and knew well, that’s impossible. But somehow I nabbed her despite my insecurities, inabilities, and imperfections.
Third, I was ultimately so pleased to see her in complete confidence on this day, as the independent, capable, humble, fun, sweet, kind, awesome person she is. And then she grabbed her things and walked out the door. I never said anything, didn’t flag her down, just watched her walk away, admiringly, knowing she’s my wife and I love everything about this woman.
Jason Hewlett
All couples can learn a valuable lesson from Jason’s chance encounter: to remember to look at our spouse through the eyes of a stranger in a supermarket queue, and remind ourselves exactly why we fell in love with them at the beginning
