Your wife will love this unexpected gift

Other than being a fully engaged husband and dad, I think I've stumbled upon the greatest practical gift you can give your wife.

If you're like me, you are constantly trying to figure out the inner-workings of your beautiful bride's mind, something that takes a lifetime to master. I've tried flowers, dinners, jewelry, breakfast in bed, and even surprise vacations; all were received with great appreciation, but still seemed to miss the mark.

I actually stumbled upon this gift as a complete accident. I've mentioned before that I have a small obsession with traveling to as many places that I can for the least amount of money as possible. Sometimes in order for this hobby to work successfully, you have to do what's called a "mattress run". A mattress run is essentially booking a cheap hotel room for a night in order to maximize the greatest number of credit card reward points. It's a technique that focuses less on the hotel stay and more about gaining as many reward points as possible. If you're totally lost by all this "travel reward' lingo right now, don't fret, you can read more about my addiction to free travel here.

The point is this, I needed to book a hotel room so that I could earn a large amount of reward points. In order to justify the stay, I usually pack up the family for the night and we make a little stay-cation out of it. Since we live in rainy Oregon, the kids are pretty excited to swim in the heated indoor pools. We were just about to leave when the thought hit me like a Floyd Mayweather left hook:

"Why don't you let your wife stay in the hotel room by herself tonight," I thought to myself.

I wish I could say that I often have these strokes of genius, but the truth is I felt like I had just stumbled across a roll of toilet paper after being lost in the Sahara for 3 weeks; it's rare and unlikely.

I quietly walked up to Leila, gave her a hug, and whispered to her, "Why don't you go to the hotel by yourself, I'll hang back here with the kids."

I have never seen my wife look at me with such attraction. I think that was the sexiest moment of my life.

That night (and many nights since then) Leila headed off to refuel her tank, kid-free, in the quietness of the hotel. She painted her nails, watched tv, ate food, and most importantly, didn't have to be a mommy or wife. She relaxed.

I've suggested this 'gold mine' of an idea to some of my other guy friends, and I have yet to hear a story where they ended up being any thing less than a hero to their wife.

I'm convinced there is no greater gift you can give your wife than the gift of time and relaxation. Jump on Priceline, Expedia, or Hotels Tonight and book a room, it will be the best money you've spent in awhile.

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