Day Thirteen -- My husband

I'm a little annoyed with myself that I waited this long to write about one of the best 100 things in my life, my husband. I would be nothing without him. I suppose that is rather dramatic so let me rephrase it by saying being married to him has brought me joy, purpose and one of life's greatest gifts, our children.

There are so many superlatives I could use to describe him. He is hard-working, intelligent, kind hearted, and best of all, he loves me despite my many, many faults. And he puts up with me. And encourages me. He is my best friend and I always feel safe next to him. Unless of course, he's driving 50 in the fast lane on the interstate. Little joke there.

After the birth of our son, the gynecologist told me his office had voted him "best dad". And he was. He went to every appointment with me and his kind and caring concern for me was palpable. And he has continued in that manner ever since. I breast fed both kids and one friend told me that he was so nurturing with the baby that it was too bad he couldn't breast feed too. A little weird, but I understood the compliment.

When babies needed to be fed in the middle of the night, he'd get up and bring them to me. He said he liked being part of the food chain :-) He changed diapers, bathed them and tried always to manage his schedule so we didn't need babysitters. If I wasn't there, he was. He helped in the classroom of both kids from their preschool days forward. He's driven thousands of miles toting kids back and forth, he's attended every birthday party and every school function. I'm not kidding, EVERY school function from the Christmas pageants to Taekwondo tournaments and orchestra recitals. He was a down-on-the-floor, hands-on dad for good times and bad. To this day, he hugs and kisses the kids, tells them he loves them and he is there for whatever they need or just to listen. He's a dad hero wrapping both kids in a blanket of love.

And looking back, now that my parents are gone, I am so thankful he loved my parents. My mother was always loveable but even when my dad became a bit less loveable with dementia, he never faltered in his support of him. One of the last things he did for my dad was take him to the grocery store. And he did it on his own, just the two guys on a shopping trip. My dad always loved the grocery store and he loved candy. He let my dad fill up a bag with candy and bought it for him. My dad toted that bag around with him like it was full of money. My husband has told me many times how wonderful my parents were and how grateful he was to have them as in-laws. And the feeling was shared by them. My parents thought my decision to marry him was the best decision I ever made. And they were right.

Not only has he always been there for the kids, but he is always there for me too. Flat tire, locked out of the house? He's there to fix it all. He spoils me and treats me with love and respect. 25 years of love and respect. I think the true measure of a man is not his occupation, nor the amount of money he makes. Men tend to measure themselves by society's yardstick. A successful man isn't successful because he has a good job. He is successful when he stands by his family, does his best by them, and loves them in good times and bad. I have a very successful husband and God has truly blessed me.