He is not romantic.
He is not the most well groomed/stylish man around.
He sometimes smells funny.
He wipes his hands on his clothes during meals.....frequently.....even if he has a napkin.
Despite these less than stellar qualities, there are things that I wish I could tell all the young women looking for love...including my own daughters.
I wish I could tell them things like.......
Looks really don't matter.
Romantic gestures don't really matter.
Wearing the latest styles don't matter.
Having good looking feet doesn't matter. (Sorry, honey, but you know they aren't pretty.)
Having to do a lot of spot cleaning whilst doing your laundry is not a big deal.
I wish I could tell them.....
What matters is that you have a husband who never leaves home without kissing every single one of us....no matter what time of day or night it is.
What matters is that you have a husband who does 95% of the grocery shopping, just because he knows you don't like to.
What matters is that you have a husband that doesn't think anything of flying across the country, with 5 of his 6 children.
What matters is that this trip is because his mother fell in a snowy parking lot in Chicago and broke her hip.
What matters is that he wanted to be with his mom.
He wanted to help his mom.
He wanted his kids to come cheer up his mom, who was feeling embarrassed and old, because she has become one of those little old ladies that fell in a parking lot.
What matters is that he didn't care that he could only be there this time, for 2 days, or about the cost of renting a mini-van and that all of the meals would be eaten out.....because none of that matters, when your mom is hurt.
This last minute trip meant a few things for me.
It meant that D-man and I were left at home because now that he isn't homeschooled, he isn't as free to travel about the country, as his siblings are.
It meant that V-girl was going to take her first flight without me.
It meant that my house stayed really clean for 2 days.
It meant that my house was WAY too quiet for 2 days.
It meant that I remembered how much a person can get done in the day if they are alone. (Really....I was amazed at the projects - and On Demand T.V. that I was able to pack in!).
I learned that I really, really miss my kids when they aren't here.
I got weepy during church because I was all alone in the pew. D-man works the sound board, so I am used to seeing him from afar. But, the other kids smile at me while I am up front singing, they try to hide from my silent admonitions that I send them - mid song, when they are acting up. When I am done singing, they surround me in our pew....the little ones fight over my lap....they snuggle with me....they hold my hand....they play with my hair. They whisper irrelevant questions to me during the sermon. Honestly, it was a very lonely feeling sitting there untouched and alone.
I re-learned that I would much rather have a houseful of children than a clean, quiet house.
Before Rainman's mom fell, my weekend plans were very different. I was supposed to fly up to Minnesota to watch the Oscars with my sisters. But, priorities are priorities and Rainman needed to be with his mom.
Cue D-man...that whatever he had been planning for the weekend had now changed also.
D-man took pity on me and played along with the Oscar Bingo and the Oscar Trivia that my sister, Karen, had sent (she is fun that way....she had games and prizes and even swag bags all ready for our sisters weekend!).
He filled out a ballot....and even tried really hard to have opinions on dresses, hairstyles and jewelry....just for me.
I am fairly sure that if I were to fall and break my hip 40 years from now....he will fly across the country to come be with me too.
I wish I could tell all those dear young ladies.......
That is what you want in a husband.
Really.
)
) the assigned reading and then flip somewhere else with the hope that I would get some new inspiration for the day. 
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