He Helps Me...

KEN HELPS ME...

• when we hear little feet pitter pattering in the hallway at 5:30-6am each morning by putting the kids back in bed and sometimes crawling in with the kids to make sure they stay there until a reasonable time.


• at mealtime which is the busiest time of day in our house unless we are prepared and organized. He helps by distracting and playing with the kids while I make the meal, set the table, cut up the kids food so it will cool off, pouring milk...you name it. And then once our meal is done he helps clean the kids hands and faces, and helps clear the table and again helps distract and play with the kids while I clean up.


• at bath time. We bath all three at once which usually causes some excitement in the tub with splashing and pouring water on each other. It's a real assembly line approach with brushing teeth, washing hair and bodies, then toweling off and getting PJ's on. I usually wash their hair and brush their teeth and then one at a time they get passed to Daddy to get their PJ's on.


• wipe bums. Usually at the most inconvenient times someone needs some assistance in the bathroom. Sam is very particular about how he goes to the washroom. He needs shoes off, pants and underwear completely off or he's in a panic. Andrew still needs some assistance with wiping. Often a child can be heard in the bathroom yelling " Mommy...Daddy...I'm done." If you are not there quickly enough tears of frustration often appear.


• by wanting to spend time with me and the boys on weekends instead of focusing on other hobbies - golfing, hockey etc. It's not that he doesn't enjoy these other hobbies and he definitely deserves a break from all the demands on him as a husband, dad and teacher but he chooses to stay with us and go swimming or skating, or to a park or quadding with the kids at Grandma and Grandpa's house etc.


• by supporting me and not giving me a hard time when I go to bed early at nights exhausted. We had a movie to watch last night and I was drifting off half an hour into it and left to crawl into our bed at 9pm. I'm not tons of fun to hang around lately.


• by listening whether I'm venting over some minor issue that seems like a big deal, or I'm worrying about family or friends, or missing my mom. He always takes the time to listen and not belittle my concerns. Hormones are raging these days, I'm like a roller coaster, very happy or very down.


• by quickly going into response mode when I have a migraine which happens on average once a month or so. Instead of leaving the details for me to figure out, he often snaps into action and lines up babysitting, dinner and even arranges rides to the doctor's if needed. This is HUGE for me. I get progressively worse if I try to take care of these details. He sometimes is doing all of this before he heads out to work in the morning.


• by providing more than enough for our family by his hard work. My husband gives 110% to his work and it is so evident. I always hear kids saying he is their favorite teacher and I always hear parents commenting on what a fantastic teacher he is. If I had to instruct and take care of 25 kids all day and then come home and help my wife with the kids and play hockey and attend meetings etc. I don't know if I could do it but he just does it without a complaint.


• by doing all of the little things that make my life easier like turning his stinky socks the right way before putting them in the laundry and hanging up the shower mat and making breakfast Saturday mornings and BBQing.


• by getting enthusiastic about projects and researching costs and quality etc. He certainly doesn't always attempt new projects all of the time but when he does he goes full force into shopping around and researching details. This has been with buying a washer and dryer, landscaping the backyard, buying a new BBQ, buying carpet for our family room, buying a microwave and many other purchases.


• by doing without material things. Unlike most men Ken will use/wear things until they become unusable/unwearable like his hockey equipment for example, he usually buys used skates and his other gear is literally falling apart. I took his skates to get sharpened on Friday and they needed a new rivet, a new eyelet, new laces b/c the two laces he had were different and falling apart. We don't have a fancy stereo or a fancy vehicle. I'm sure Ken would love to have all of these things but he makes them seem so unimportant to him whereas I usually am stressing the need for things like...new maternity clothes, highlights, new runners etc. He keeps me focused on what's important in life...faith, family and friends., and for him maybe I should add beer as well.


• by having a balanced life and sets a good example to me who usually tries to take everything on at once and ends up suffering because of it.
• by walking to school 2.5 kms so that I can have the van to take the kids to playgroups and Bible study.
  There are so many other things he helps me with, this list is unending but I just wanted to share a few things about my best friend and husband and show my appreciation for him.

Have you thought about or thanked your spouse for all of the little things they do for you lately?