Going into this past weekend, I was a little smug in my plans. I am the one who always goes away for work (And also, fun), thus leaving my husband to manage our three small children. To appease my guilt let him experience the wonder of a weekend away, I encouraged him to make plans for his own excursion sans kids or wife.

His being away did not mean that I was left at home pouting. I made plans with my girlfriends which turned out to be more fun than I had imagined (apart from the whole flat tire episode).

It was that flat tire debacle that got me thinking about how utterly screwed I would be, should anything happen to my husband. While at first I was peeved that he DID NOT ANSWER HIS CELL PHONE when I called him to tell me what I should do (Which led to me driving the van for MILES on a dead tire)(Which subsequently warped the rim beyond repair), upon his return he put the spare tire in in a matter of minutes and had arranged for our mechanic to replace our broken tire (And also the van’s alignment. GO ME) this week.

Car stuff is his “thing.” Yes, I changed the oil in my car back in the day, and have changed headlights, windshield wipers, and replaced gas caps (That I left behind when filling the tank. Shut up.)

The truth of the matter is that I have gladly left all vehicular issues for him to handle and I am OK with that. We each have areas of household duties that are our strengths and we run with it.

Feeling so helpless after my accident has left me pondering all of the little things that he does to take care me (and our family).

I thought a list in honor of the little things that he does was more than due.

• He makes the bed every morning. I beat him to it one day and he was equal parts amazed and flabbergasted.
• He takes the garbage out when full, and brings it down to the road on garbage day.
• If we are out of the regular baking that we keep on the counter (Cookies, banana bread, granola bars), he will whip up a batch without even thinking.
• We have a wood-burning furnace. He keeps it stoked all day long, and on the rare night when the fire dies he heads out into the frozen tundra to cut kindling with which to start the fire again.
• He vacuums and mops the floors on a regular basis; dirty floors drive him batty. I can count on ONE HAND the number of times I have mopped the floors in nearly nine years of marriage.
• I haven’t changed the kitty litter since I was first pregnant, seven years ago.
• He is my sounding board at the end of the day. We talk about the cool (as well as annoying) things that the kids did that day. We have uninterrupted time to get caught up and connected.

I’ll stop there, lest I start making y’all (and myself) a little nauseous.

How about you? What little things do you appreciate about your spouse?

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