Eight

Eric and I are nearing our eighth wedding anniversary (March 31st) and he still warms my heart every day.
~

For the last two weeks, I have been recovering from pneumonia. At first I thought it was just a cold and it is so hard to admit defeat, schedule an appointment, go to the doctor, miss work, blah, blah, blah. But eventually, my mom made me go and I was surprised to find myself in an exam room prepping for an x-ray. Looking for some sympathy, I text Eric that I'm about to go in for a chest x-ray.
His response?
"Can I get a copy?"

~
I've been out of commission and basically am of no use, so Eric has been doing his best to handle house, work, kid, etc. After supper, Eric is cleaning up the kitchen when Jackson flies into the room and this is Eric's instant and rushed response: "Whoa! What is that? Can you play with that? Wait. Does mama know you have that? I don't know, buddy. Hang on. Mama!"

~
"Let me lay some wisdom on you, boy."

Eric regularly offers Jackson helpful advice, like: "Hey Jack, don't jump up and down on mama's head, ok?" But I really love how he always decides to make a tiny moment into an elaborate parenting opportunity. Sometimes it is transforming bath time into an alphabet lesson and other times it's a discussion about the future. While they are all valuable insights, sometimes Jackson is not really keyed into to the fact that his daddy is trying to lay some wisdom on him and it can be truly adorable to watch. For instance, the other night Eric and a neighbor went to see Bill O'Reilly speak downtown. Jackson asked "Daddy, when I get big can I go with you?" Eric casually responded, "Sure buddy, when you get big you can come with me." But then there's the pause, and the deep breath while he is tying his tie. It's dramatic. He's prepped his speech: "You can always come with me. But you know, Jackson, one day you are going to get big and you're not always going to want to go places or do things with me. You'll want to do things on your own too. And you know what? That's okay."
Pause.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, son?"
"Can I chew gum?"

~

Nearly every night, Eric turns on both sides of the electric blanket well before bed time. Some nights, when I eventually drag my way to bed and I am greeted by that tiny orange glow on the setting indicating that the blanket has been warming up the sheets, I think to myself, "man, I really love that guy."
Happy anniversary, baby.

Comments

Sylvie said…
Happy Anniversary to a great couple. Eric is a man of many parts, not least of which is his ability to feel and to express his multi-faceted appreciation for his wife! So glad you have each other! xoxo
March 22, 2010 at 11:03 AM
Anonymous said…
Yes, Happy Anniversary. And you get to celebrate again on Easter Sunday!
April 1, 2010 at 8:08 PM
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