About Don

Today is our 5th anniversary. I'm not usually one to get all mushy and tell you how wonderful and perfect my husband is. If I brag about my husband, it's usually in a tongue-and-cheek kind of way. It's just the way I am. Lucky for all of you, I've decided to set aside my reservations for today for one very good reason: Sometimes we assume the people we love know we love them, and so we don't tell them.

In light of that, let me tell you a little about Don: Don is the sort of person who will stop everything he's doing to come pull his wife out of a snowbank. Heck, he'll pull anyone out of a snowbank. It doesn't matter if we're driving home,it's 3 in the morning and it's a blizzard outside, and we still have an hour or two to drive. That's all the more reason to stop and help someone in need. This could quite possibly be a metaphor for his life. I once heard a friend say that when they died, they wanted people at their funeral to say that they were the sort of person who, "returned the shopping cart". Because that simple act says a lot about you: you're considerate, willing to do your part. And more likely than not, it extends to all the aspects of your life. So I think that an epitaph of "he pulls you out of rut" is an even better aspiration.

This characteristic also shows that Don is prepared. Whenever we go on a trip, long or short, our truck is packed with tools, toe straps, cables, etc. Not because Don is a hard core boy scout,living the motto, but because he wants to be able to take anything life has to throw at him. Case and point: last winter we were Christmas tree hunting with my family. Some oversight led us to only bring one chain saw. Our group got split up just when we just happened to find the tree we wanted. Because Don was there, there was no need to sit around and wait for my dad to bring the saw. He calmly pulled out his .45 and shot the dang thing down. It brings a whole new meaning to "Christmas tree hunting". The poor thing died quickly. No suffering.

While Don's the one of the biggest "man's man" I know, beneath that rough n' tough exterior you'll find a huge heart. Dog lover. Nature lover. Music lover. He'll never admit that he watches chic flicks with his wife not because she makes him, but because, I suspect, he kind-of likes them. He called up my sister before mother's day to ask her questions about jewelry making so he could make a necklace for me. One like my mother has that we can't afford. He gave me flowers for a month after LiLi was born just because he knew it made me ridiculously happy. He does laundry and dishes when I'm so sick of doing them I think I'm going to puke if I see another dirty sock. And the day LiLi was born he didn't look at her with the paternal pride I expected him to, instead I looked up and saw him crying, realizing that he was a daddy. Don was actually ready for kids before I was. He probably would have been happy had we had some right away, but the thought scared me silly. So he waited for me.

Thinking about all this, I realize that...dang. I'm lucky. My sentiments echo Elizabeth Barrett Browning,

"I love [him] to the level of everyday's most quiet need, by sun & candlelight. I love [him] with the passion put to use in my old greifs, and with my childhood's faith...
-I love with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life!-and if God choose, I shall but love [him] better after death."

Here's to five, Baby.