Have I Told You Lately?

Have I ever told you how much I love my husband?  Of course I have.  You're probably sick of hearing it.  Well, sorry, folks.  I love him, and I'm going to tell you over and over and over.  I wish every woman had a partner like Greg.  He balances me.  He uplifts me.  Just knowing him makes me a better person.  I don't know how I managed to find this man, and I'm even more surprised every day that he loves me.  I can tell you time and time again the characteristics I love in him.  I can add new qualities about him that I adore almost daily, but I'm hard pressed to see what he sees in me.  I try not to question, though.  Some things in life are better left to simple acceptance.  Whatever it is he sees, I'm glad for it.  In fact, I am more than glad, I am overjoyed.

Sometimes just looking at him I am filled with such heartwarming emotions that I am left speechless.  Years ago, if someone had told me they felt the way I feel about Greg, I would have thought they were crazy.  I would have rolled my eyes, either secretly or possibly even outwardly, depending on the person.   I would have chalked it up to girlish stupidity.  I wasn't a believer before I met Greg.  Actually, I wasn't a believer until quite some time after we were together.  I was always attracted to him.  I always saw the good in him, and I always had fun with him, but the love I have for him was not immediate.  It wasn't love at first sight.  It has grown slowly over the last (almost) 9 years, building on itself, expanding each day.

That slow growth is a good thing, especially for me.  If I had felt this strongly about him in the beginning, I would have blown it off as misdirected lust.  It would have scared me.  I would have run from it.  I did run from it, actually - twice.  But he stuck around and waited me out.  He gave me the time to come to terms with my own emotions, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Greg and I rarely get sick, but this last week he has been terribly ill .  He was so sick that he didn't do any side jobs on his days off and even called off work at the plant yesterday.  He hasn't called in sick since 2006, so you know it was bad!  Even being sick, he did so much for me around the house.  I worked all week, and since I was away the week prior, I had a lot of things that were piling up.  The Christmas decorations outside were still up, the house was getting grimy (at least grimy for my standards).   Every day when I came home from work, he had dinner ready.  He took down all of my outside Christmas decorations and he started restoring my grandmother's old cedar chest.  He assembled a shoe rack for my coat closet to help with the massive clutter that accumulates on the floor.  He shoveled the walks and put down salt so that I didn't have to walk over ice to get to the car in the morning.  Yesterday he made an evening trip to a local pharmacy for some more cold medicine and he came home with spearmint leaves, my favorite childhood treat - one that my grandmother used to sneak to me behind my mother's back, spoiling my appetite while my poor mom cooked dinner! He's just so thoughtful, and I am one lucky girl to be blessed with his love.

Today he felt well enough to return to work.  The snow has been steadily falling since before dawn.  I am supposed to drive to Johnstown for my sister-in-law's baby shower, but I'm not so sure I want to brave the roads.  I haven't made my mind up completely yet, but it looks like it's going to be a snow day for Andrew and me.  It's not even 830 in the morning and I already miss Greg.  I quickly got used to having him around all the time.  Today would be the perfect day to be snowed in together under a warm blanket, next to a fire with some hot chocolate.  We're making plans for a weekend get-away, just the two of us, so we can have our fireside snuggle time.  For now, though, I'll have to be warmed by the thought of him, and with a man like Greg, that's easy to do.