Confessions of a Blogaholic

I'm not a mushy-gushy person. I never have been. The hubs and I are definitely not the people you will see fawning over each other in the frozen foods aisle at the grocery store, nor will we ever be the adults acting like children and making out in the back of the movie theater. We're just not those kinds of people. We love each other, obviously, but we don't feel the need (and never really have) to pronounce that love over and over again so everyone can hear it (hence our wedding in Vegas!). We just are.

For the most part, he drives me nuts, lol. There are many things about him that make me cringe, stress me out, make my blood pressure rise. As our time with each other continues to fly by, I still find there are things about him that I'm learning to adjust to, things I may not like, but they make him HIM, and I have to figure out how to be comfortable with that. For each day that passes, we are still learning how to talk to each other, what to accept and what to address. Yes, he drives me crazy with his snoring and the way he smacks his belly and stretches every time he looks in the fridge (haha...he'll hate me for that one!). He DEFINITELY drives me nuts when he talks in his sleep and tries to sell things to people in his dream ("You want this pack of pens? I'll sell it to you for $2"). His impulsiveness and inability to think about the future are diametrically opposed to my need to plan and think through every move I make. The fact that the man tends to have more clothes than I at any single point in time but STILL takes longer than me to find something to wear is entirely annoying!! In 7.5 years, I've found there is a laundry list of my hubs' idiosyncracies that absolutely make me nuts.

But there are many, many more things about him that I appreciate enough to forgive most of his "habits". And because I don't spend enough time shouting my love for him from the treetops (it'll never happen!), I want to take a minute now to list some of the things he does that I appreciate and love about him...

1. He is a little workhorse. Think of any project at any time during any season, and Nathan will work, work, work until it is done. Every time we have moved, he has steadily worked throughout the day to move things into a U-H.aul and into the apartments, while I have had to "rest" after carrying a lamp! Today, for instance, he is busying himself with replacing a door in our apartment, and it has turned into QUITE the project (door is .25" too big, but they don't make it in the exact size). Instead of giving up or getting pissed, he's been working away at this project for 5 hours. His dedication to projects is amazing.

2. When we go to the grocery store, he always goes to grab the cart and uses the sanitizing wipes on it before handing the cart to me because he KNOWS how much of a germaphobe I am.

3. When we bring groceries home, he lets me wait inside while he unloads all of the bags. It's like he has his own little competition going on with himself to see how many bags he can carry at once.

4. He drives whenever we go anywhere, which I love because I HATE driving.

5. I think I've maybe pumped my gas 10 times in the last 7.5 years because he always does it for me. ("I thought that's what men were supposed to do," he says.)

6. He is ALWAYS there for me when I screw something up. For example, I just broke yet another laptop power cord the other day, and when I tried to fix it myself, I pretty much electrocuted myself because I didn't unplug the cord before I started (duh!). He came home, stripped the wires, twisted wire A around B, wrapped the whole contraption in electrical tape and BOOM new power cord.

7. When it comes to cars, he can diagnose or at least give a general idea of every problem. If I need an oil change or air in my tires, or if I can't get my "Check oil" light to go off, he can do it.

8. Even though he snores all night and takes up so much room in the bed, he is SO COMFORTABLE to lean against--especially now that I've got this extra weight to roll around with. Also, he's like the werewolves in T.wilight--108 degrees or something when he sleeps. It's like having my own personal furnace when I'm tossing and turning.

9. He has cleaned the litter boxes himself throughout my pregnancy.

10. He can cook and LIKES to cook!! In fact, there are several things he makes better than I do! Pancakes and eggs are definitely his specialty.

11. I love the way he gets excited talking about the baby. He was so pumped to get to put the baby furniture together (his first real duty as a dad), but unfortunately, expensive furniture (apparently) comes pre-assembled in the box, lol.

12. He will go to the store to buy me tampons (not recently, obviously). I think it's like a point of pride for him to stand in the aisle, pick them out, and carry them through the store. I think it makes him feel like more of a man.

13. I like that he likes to sit down at the table, just the two of us, to eat dinner. The only times in 7.5 years that we've eaten in front of the tv is when we have eaten at separate times or when the table has crap on it. I like that eating together is important to him.

14. If I want anything at any time, he goes and gets it for me. Last night, I had to have a burger and fries at 1:30am, and he went to get it.

15. The things I love the most about him are the things he does without expecting me to notice. He never rubs it in that he does all the stuff I've listed...he just does it, like it's a responsibility that he enjoys. He doesn't put these things on any sort of "You owe me" list...he does them and never mentions them again.

I could literally go on and on about the things I love. Sometimes I find I get so wrapped up in being annoyed that I forget to be thankful for the ways he makes my life easier. He does a lot for me, and even though we disagree on a lot (what's a married couple if you don't disagree???), I am thankful every day to have someone in my life who is here to share half of my burdens. I depend on him for so much more than I ever give him credit for (did you know when you have a significant other, best friend, etc. that you depend on them for 50% of your memory? You tell them things or things happen to the two of you, and while you'll only maintain 1/2 the memory, your "other" will save the other 1/2????), and I'm happy that he's here for me to depend on.

So, here, I'll shout it from the rooftops just this one time...I love my husband and I am so lucky to have him as my best friend, my hemorrhoid :), and my hubs. You're great, Nathan, and don't let my b*tching or nagging lead you to believe otherwise!!