A few weeks ago my marriage counselor friend John asked me if I could name five things that I love about my husband. I think he had heard me bitching about one thing or another one time too many. I came up with my five...and none of them was at all domestic-related or handyman-ish. As a matter of fact, when my kids were little they learned to say, "Ask Mom to fix this with her toolbox."
This picture is from when I gave him an apron and chef's hat for his birthday knowing that his domestic contributions would be limited to occasionally grilling.
Recently we moved back to North Carolina, and if you are just tuning in, you will find out that we are living in a rental house while the small (I mean really tiny) house we had is moved (yes, I sold my house on craigslist!) and our new house built on the lot. The biggest excitement lately was that I had to buy the new washer and dryer for the new house ahead of time because we needed a washer and dryer for the rental and the washer and dryer for the old house were old and not worth moving. I have waxed rhapsodic about the new appliances here.
While my husband was out of town, I decided to set up his office for him. I got all his boxes of office stuff and set it up on the Tierney-donated dining room table which was now to serve as his temporary desk. I put his pens and pencils in a cup, placed his stapler at the perfect right angle to his legal pad, set up his laptop docking station, connected his printer and even found an unused lamp to light his working area.
But this was nothing compared to what HE has been doing. I don't know if it was the five months that he spent as a bachelor in Florida while the kids and I settled in here or if he got knocked over the head while trying to move furniture, but he's a changed man. And I LOVE IT!!!! He's been doing the laundry...could be the new cool laundry machines...but he's doing it! He's been straightening up. He's been all over the kids to get them to not leave their stuff all over the place. And he's been hounding them to straighten up their rooms. It's nothing short of spectacular.
And here's the kicker...it makes ME more focused on these things...not because I don't want to be outdone by him. But all of a sudden, I don't feel like I am the only person who gives a s*** if the laundry is done, if the house is cluttered, etc. It's Our Team Against Clutter!!! I can't wait until he walks into his closet and sees that I organized his dress shirts, suites, pants, jackets, t-shirts and golf shirts!
So John, my dear marriage counselor friend, next time you hear me bitching about my husband, you can remind me of this...# 6 on the list of things I love about my husband!
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