I said in the last post that I’m going to use some journal prompts for a while. Today I’m going with 10 things I appreciate about Joe.
- I appreciate his willingness to be silly with me. We are constantly making jokes and using funny voices with each other. No matter what we are doing we can turn it into something silly and fun. This tends to be how I break the ice when we are arguing and I love that he just goes along with it and it helps to open up a dialogue.
- I appreciate the love he gives to our children. He losing his temper when he gets overwhelmed, but honestly who doesn’t? He constantly let’s our kids know that he loves them and wants to be around them. He takes the time to play with them while I’m at work and make it meaningful for them.
- I appreciate his effort in becoming a better husband and father. He is trying to communicate more and evaluate himself so that he knows what his triggers are and how to deal with them. He strives everyday to become better.
- I appreciate that he tries his best to listen to me. I ramble. A lot of what I say doesn’t make any sense. Still, he sits there and listens to me. He shows interest in what I’m saying. When we are having a disagreement and I bring up my concerns he listens to them and acknowledges them. He’s not one of those guys that just nods his head and acts like he’s listening most of the time. Instead he’s actually trying to listen most of the time and just nodding his head and acting like he’s listening a small percentage of the time.
- I appreciate that he goes along with every family outing I ask to go on. The first time I suggested that we go pumpkin picking he was very clearly not into it, but he went along anyway. In the end he had a lot of fun. He does this consistently everytime. I want to go to an amusement park, a zoo, an aquarium, for a walk, for a run, to the beach, anything. No matter what it is he goes along with it and makes the best out of it even when the kids are acting crazy.
- I appreciate that he offers me emotional support in the times I need it most. He’s not great with emotions. He struggles with his own emotions and still hasn’t figured out how to communicate them and decipher them yet. Despite that, when I’m struggling he’s always there for me to lean on. Even if it’s about him he still is there to offer me the emotional support I need. I can’t even count how many times I’ve spiraled out of control into an anxiety attack and frantically cleaned our house and he manages to calm me down and help me communicate what’s actually going on.
- I appreciate that he tries to help with the house because he knows it overwhelms me. I say try because I’m always like “no you aren’t doing that right” and then in the same breath saying I need help. He tries his very best to help around the house with what I need help with and I can’t ever thank him enough for the housework he does.
- I appreciate that he quit his job to take care of our kids when they were neglected at daycare. He didn’t have to do that. He really didn’t. He could have had me quit my job. He could have just switched daycares and called it a day. Instead, he saw that even after switching daycares I was anxious and having difficulty trusting anyone else with our kids. He saw the way that I was feeling and stepped up and did what was best for our family. I don’t think there a lot of men that would give up their job and become a stay at home parent. I know he struggled with the idea of giving up his job and not being able to bring any financial help for the family. I know he struggled with the thought of switching the “traditional” gender roles and being the one at home. I know he really struggled with it but he did it anyway for the betterment of our kids.
- I appreciate that he holds me accountable when I’m being a bitch. I’m just going to leave that at that.
- I appreciate that above all else he’s my best friend. Sometimes I need him to put on his best friend hat instead of his husband hat and have a heart to heart with me and he does it. Sometimes I need him to be one of the girls and talk about things he probably doesn’t want to talk about. No matter what I need from him, he’s there. He is my best friend in the entire world.
I’ll be entirely honest with you, having to write 10 reasons I appreciate Joe was kind of difficult. Not because I don’t appreciate him, because I do. It was difficult to put into words. I don’t think I usually think about specific reasons why I appreciate him so it was hard to pinpoint exact things that I appreciate him for. I appreciate everything about him though. Even the things I don’t necessarily like about him. All of his strengths and all of his weaknesses together make him who he is and who I want to be with. I appreciate that he is so undeniably himself that no matter what happens he’s just, him. Everything we have been through together has made us both stronger and better. I remember being told that we were too young to get married and he was too immature to be married or be a dad. We’ve grown up together though and I’m so grateful that I got to see our progress and I got to share that with him. I appreciate you Googly Bear. I hope you know that even when I don’t tell you.