Thursday, September 3, 2009

I Love My Husband

Someone made the comment recently, "You sure do say that alot," after I (once again) proclaimed my affection for my spouse.
And I do say it a lot. I know I do. I'm proud I do.
I'm proud of my husband. I'm proud to be his wife.
A man I respect very much told us something after our wedding, while he was coming through the receiving line. He took both of our hands, and looked at us, and said, "Always remember to tell each other 'I love you' every day. If you quit saying it, you quit feeling it." (Or something along those lines.) I don't know if this influenced the frequency of us voicing our affection, or if we were well on the way, but what he said has stuck with me. We say these "three little words" often, every day. If we're talking on the phone during his drive to or from work and we run out of things to talk about, one of us will invariably say this after a few seconds of silence. Or if he comes home from work and is immediately waylaid by Nathan wanting to play, he will find me later and say, "I didn't kiss you yet, did I?"
Our love has changed since our wedding. The first year we were married, I got flowers on the 20th of every month (we were married on the 20th of March). I got up and made him waffles at 5 AM before he went to work while he slept another 15 minutes. But just because it looks different, it doesn't mean it's not there. We don't do those things any more, but we do other things: he shows me he loves me by helping me to chores I hate (like weeding), and I show him I love him by listening to him talk about what's going on at work, and showing interest in the job he does. Not that we consciously have to say, I love him/her, so I'm going to do listen to him/help her weed. It just comes naturally.
When I say, "I love my husband," so often, it's not like I'm reminding myself, like one might mutter "I love my husband. I love my husband. I love my husband." when he has spent your vacation savings on a new power tool. When I say it, it's a proclomation - I LOVE HIM! AND I WANT THE WHOLE WORLD TO KNOW!!!
I know I will never be the trophy wife when it comes to looks. I'm 3 inches taller than my husband, and have 20 pounds on him (when I'm not pregnant). But if I love him, and he feels my love completely and without reservation, do you think that will ever matter to him? He'll still be proud of me. It's when men stop feeling that you love them that they start looking at your flaws.
So. Anyways.
That's part of the reason why I say it so often: I love my husband!