I am a very lucky woman. I know that and I am thankful for that every day. I had a really good day today and it made me think about how fortunate I really am. I have talked to several students this semester and we all seem to have issues that have made things seem rough. We all feel like we have short fuses. Some of us are stretched too far, others have issues at home or other personal issues. But we all feel like this is not the best semester we have ever had. Today felt so much better, at least for me.
I had a good day but it was more than that. For some reason I started thinking about my husband and my marriage. Bottom line, I realized how fortunate I am to be married to someone that I love and I really like. Who makes me laugh, and infuriates me sometimes. Who gives me lots of space when I need it, and yet is always there when I need that. Who knows when to bring flowers and when to bring food. Who knows the answer to obscure questions and knows almost every pop song, well, EVER! Who is kind to old people, inspirational to young people and yet jokes with both and shoots straight with both. Who gets away with things I would get in trouble for, and yet can set you straight in a heartbeat if you stray off the right path. He is the most moral, ethical, and thoughtful person and in the next breath he can cuss you like a sailor. He is funny, creative, and imaginative and yet has more practical skills than most. People call him all of the time for advice on things from lighting to construction to car repairs. He is a wiz on the computer, as well as on a welder.
I saw today how much our son is like my husband and it made me smile. Jon sent me a text that said something I have heard Tim say a million times. They can be so different and butt heads some times, but they are alike as well. Jon is just an extension of the love I have for Tim. Where Tim and I are a strong team, we like to say that adding Jon makes us the strongest shape there is- a triangle. In building, a triangle is what you put in to make things sturdy. We are that triangle.
Real love is not all flowers and love songs. It is being there for someone when they are ill or pushing them to take care of themselves. It is knowing when to help and when to let someone make it on their own. It is knowing you are a team when the big jobs appear and doing whatever it takes to get the job done together. It is not 50- 50. Sometimes it is 90-10, but you know if you are giving more that soon things will probably be reversed. So you give whatever it takes to get through. Love is not really hard, I don’t think. When it is right, it just is. It isn’t a struggle or fight- if it is you might need to rethink your relationship! It isn’t always easy, but it is always worth it.
I have to say I enjoy being alone sometimes, but pretty soon I realize just how lost I would be without Tim. I would rather spend time talking to him than anyone I know and I count on him for probably way too much. And for all of this I don’t thank him enough for all he means to me. I couldn’t be in school if it weren’t for him and I would not be the person I am without him. So I just felt like I wanted to publicly say to my husband Tim- thank you and I love you.
