Oh the Bliss!

A couple weekends ago my daughter was in our church's Christmas musical, she was the adorable one. :) Anyway... The first thing she (and every other child to grace a stage in the history of EVER) does when she walks out and takes her place is search. I could see her twinkling eyes squinting in the bright lights trying to find me in the crowd. In the herd of 7-12 year olds it took me all of 2 seconds to find her, but she couldn't see me, so I did what any loving parent would do and I waved like a maniac... no shame, people, no shame... but she never saw me. She sang all the songs, did all the motions and played her part beautifully, but every chance she got I could see her still looking. And the split seconds of disappointment when she really thought I wasn't there? I saw those too. So many people, so many lights, so many distractions, I was RIGHT THERE, but she just couldn't find me. Where WERE you?? She hugged my waist afterward. I was here... I saw the whole thing...

Your wife is awesome. AWE. SOME. She works really, really hard. She thinks about a thousand things per minute - and maybe she tells you about too many of them-  but for reals, she's amazing and you need to act on that. Thank her for working. Whether it's in the home, or away from the home, the lady works. My guess is if she's tired, she's legitimately tired because wearing a trillion hats everyday is tiring. You wear a trillion hats too, so lean into that with her, and thank her for working. She is trying... all the time... trying to be what you want, what her kids want, what her friends want, what the world wants... all the while scraping cobwebs off the person she wanted to be and fervently praying that she's the person GOD wants her to be. It's a lot, man, a lot. Recognize the efforts she goes to to be there for you and for the family. Or, maybe she doesn't put forth effort, maybe it's been years since you've felt like she's been there for...

I'm going to put your dolls away tonight. I'm going to put your dress up clothes away, too. I'll pick up your puzzle pieces from the unfinished puzzle. I'll grab a glob of Playdough and stick it to all the tiny bits you left on the floor. I'll wash off your paint brushes. I'll stack your blocks. I'll find your shoes and (Lord willing) match your socks. I'll check your grammar and print your papers. I'll scrape the mud out of your cleats and set your uniform out. I'll tape Bible verses to your mirror. I'll write notes in your lunch. I'll bite my lip and rub the back of my neck when that one song plays because it reminds me of when you were tiny. And I'll squeeze your hand in the checkout line when the woman in front of us fumbles with her phone for the eleventh time because her son was going to call at 5:30, and it's 5:37 and she's worried. Clearly the store has no reception. She looked at us, the lady in th...