Shawn came running to me today, holding Brayden under the armpits and as far away from him as possible..."Hey Hol, he had some D, I'll take care of it, just hold him. I gotta fast forward through the sharks! Quick!" Yes sir! To the Batmobile, Robin!!!
Seriously, Brayden has had a reaction to his meds and went through 20 diapers yesterday, all of them "D" as Shawn calls it. His bum is bright red and he wails every time it's touched. Gavin is has been back on his nebulizer with a horrible cough and wants to watch Nemo everytime he gets a treatment. However, he is afraid of the Sharks and about 15 other scenes in the movie. And my partner in life was on it this weekend.
He changed the diapers, did the baking soda baths for sore bums, fast forwarded the Sharks, filled up the nebulizer, bought the pedialite, got the prescriptions, cued up Clifford, ran a few errands for me and caught the family up on finances. All the while, he was sick to.
And here's the thing. As a mom who stays home, sometimes I think to myself..."So what? I do it everyday all day, plus some." But as I watched Shawn this weekend, I was impressed. This is a man, who used to get a cold and just stay in bed. (I do not say this as a put down, but just a reality.) He had no reason not to. A man who treasures sleep...and needs it. A man who works two jobs. A man who has little spare time and when he does, it is usually scheduled with some family function. A man who has a wife who can have some pretty steep expectations. A man who is tired.
This weekend, this man worked his hiney off with two sick kids. He was up early and down late. He slept in the other room (cause his wife begged him to stop snoring or take the couch). He surpassed expectations. And he did it all without complaining. And tomorrow, he will get up and go back to "work" with people who think he had the weekend off.
I can't say there won't be another time where I take it for granted. But today, I don't. Today I am thankful for what a magnificent father my children have and what an awesome husband I have! Today I am impressed by his love for his family, his work ethic and his attitude. Today, I realize that not putting his shoes in the closet isn't that big a deal (sidenote: I may not feel this way tomorrow) and that if the dishes don't make it to the dishwasher, it's not the end of the world. Today I am grateful for the wrestling with my sons and the laughter he elicites from them, even though it means I am the one cleaning the toys and wiping down the highchairs. Today, I appreciate the corny jokes he makes to lighten my "mood", his love of singing (even though he has the inability to get any of the words right), and his passion for dreaming really big dreams that my type A personality cannot wrap it's mind around.
All this makes me think, I look forward to when the boys are older and I can tell them all about their daddy today.
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