I'm Spoiled and I Know It

DH and I are both stay-at-home parents. Thanks to some great decisions and opportunities while living in Los Angeles, we have been able to call ourselves semi-retired here in the Midwest.

I am often asked how we manage to spend so much time together and not drive each other crazy. Simple. He's wonderful. He's helpful. I love him.

I love watching him bond with the girls. It's a dramatic change from when Miss M was only one and she barely knew her dad because of all the hours he put in at work, traveling to/from work and out of town because of work. That may sound like a complaint, but it's not. Those sacrifices he made back then got us to where we are today.

The girls are at an age where they are home the majority of the day. They've grown so used to DH being around that when he goes to his volunteer job, they pester me about how long until he'll return. They want him to sing to them and play with them. They want to sit next to him at the restaurant, they fight over who gets daddy and who has to have mommy. They argue about who gets to hold his hand while walking in areas where they have to hold our hands. Am I jealous? Not even close. I'm proud. They want their dad because he's here; he's spending quality time with them and they love him - not because he's absent and they are vying for his attention.

Due to a death in his family and his uncle's sudden illness, he's been away for over a week now. With every day and every small thing I do, I realize how much I miss him. When he calls, I don't complain to him about the girls misbehaving. Considering all the circumstances, my worst day is far better than his best day right now.

Many women have husbands that travel a great deal for work. Other families are broken apart by military assignments. I applaud those people for doing all they do.

I'm spoiled to have a husband who is always around and I'm sorry I don't tell him often enough how much I appreciate him.