Booktrib’s Bookbites

Christmas Dreams Come Early For Wife Of Work-Life Balance Expert

(NAPSI)—It could be said that everything Troy Amdahl learned to love he learned in kindergarten. No kidding. He met Kristen, his wife of 29 years, at age five, remained friends, took her to the senior prom, married and raised four children.

Recently, Amdahl had a post on his Facebook page go virile for an act of kindness for his wife that he never, in his wildest dreams, could have imagined.

Amdahl, along with Dave Braun, is one of the OolaGuys, and has co-authored several international bestselling Oola books on finding the proper work-life balance. With a simple message, “Live the life you deserve,” they recently published their newest collaboration, “Oola for Christians: Find Balance and Grow.”

A self-avowed “Christmas curmudgeon,” for decades Amdahl approached the holiday season with a debate: when to put up the Christmas tree. Kristen, on the other hand, loves Christmas and everything about it—decorating the house, gatherings with their large family, making homemade gifts, the Hallmark movies and, most importantly, the meaning of the season. Yet, through it all, Troy tried to rein in the holiday cheer.

For all of Amdahl’s lessons as the Oola guy, he was about to walk the talk.

The couple had recently moved out of their home while renovations were being completed. That’s when the idea hit him. He thought about how he wanted to try to give back some of the joy and happiness to this woman who has been by his side for his whole life.

Unbeknownst to Kristen, Amdahl put a call in to their decorators to fully decorate two stunning trees: one “blank canvas” for the many family ornaments the kids had made over the years, and another Pinterest-worthy tree to surprise his wife as she walked in the door.

He never expected the response he got when they returned to their home on Halloween. Their son was there to capture the magical moment when his mom saw the first tree and cried tears of joy. When she saw the “other” tree, she lost it. Jumping up and down and crying.

“Why did I put these restrictions around when, what and how,” mused Amdahl, “when enjoying Christmas early gave my wife such joy?”

“Love well the people who love and support you,” Amdahl says. “Invest in their dreams, even if they are different from your own.” By his wife’s reaction, he continues, “My only disappointment is that I didn’t do this years ago. Heck, if it makes someone I love this much this happy, it can stay up all year as far as I’m concerned.”

You can purchase “Oola for Christians: Find Balance and Grow” at https://amzn.to/2K3sbMx.

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 “Troy Amdahl and Dave Braun co-authored several international bestselling books on finding the proper work-life balance. The newest collaboration is “Oola for Christians: Find Balance and Grow.” http://bit.ly/2XbRktv