My Darling Husband

I love my husband. Oh. So. Much. Really I do. We often think the same thoughts at the same time, which is fun. His attitudes, insights, and approaches to things have really helped me balance a lot of my crazy. He is absolutely the yin to my yang.

I have always been a lazy procrastinator. My deadly sin of choice is idleness, always has been. Jeff? Has an incredible work ethic. When I met his old employer and long-time friend Norm, he told me the story of Jeff's first day. Norm told Jeff to go get something. Jeff dropped off the ladder, ran to get it, and zipped back up the ladder. Norm just knew that would last for a day, maybe a week. "But," he told me "he's been doing it ever since. " He then proceeded to tell me that Jeff would be an excellent provider. He has been. In fact when he got a call just the other night from an entrepreneur friend he told him straight up that he would not be able to help him build his website. He'd consult but he wasn't going to sacrifice his families security to start chasing a million dollar idea. Since I like the security myself and have no desire to shake things up, I was grinning from ear to ear while listening to his end of the conversation. I'd probably have hemmed and hawed and have had a much harder time saying no. (It always takes me longer to think of the reason why I shouldn't do something)

I have a tendency to worry myself to pieces about how I will ever get something done. Jeff's attitude? Just DO it. It's rubbing off some, and today I got my entire upstairs vacuumed. That has not ever happened before, definitely not all at once. The upstairs hasn't looked this decent since we moved in. That is definitely embarrassing to admit. But it happened because I took it in baby steps, got a little help, and just did it. I'm especially impressed with myself because what would usually feel like a 'big job' to me, that would have to wait until Jeff was home to help, wasn't. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that my kids are getting to the point that they help. I mentioned that I wanted to vacuum the whole upstairs today and Abby picked up her room so I could. Jeff and I had already tackled the very intimidating months and months of clutter in our room, so that was easy. The hardest part was keeping Harvey on task to put away his toys. It would be easier to do it myself. Easier, not smarter. Didn't hurt any that Willie likes the vacuum now and I don't have to hold him the whole time. Back to Jeff

Jeff is very insightful. Over the years he has observed that if I (or Abby, or any Stewart), is having a break down chances are excellent we need dinner and maybe a nap. Yes, food actually makes it better. It's amazing how much brighter the sky seems when one's blood sugar levels are normal. More recently he noted that the women in my immediate family HAVE to be heard. We don't really care if you agree with us or not, just shut up and listen for 2 minutes. This can be problematic when my sister, my mother, and I, all feel the need to be heard at once. It's not that we shout over the top of each other, rather we get terribly upset that we aren't being listened to, and all end up in tears and angry. He thinks we should just take turns, and remember to listen in our turn. Isn't he smart?? Thanks to his insights I feel a lot more prepared to cope with my own crazies. He knows me, he knows me better than I know my own self. My wonderful darling husband. Whatever would I do without him? (That is entirely a rhetorical question because I don't want to think about it, much less answer it!)