1) He prepares the coffee machine every evening so when I stumble out of bed the next morning, minutes before our munchkins are at my feet, there is always hot coffee for me waiting, begging to be poured.
2) He appreciates music. Music was a huge part of my childhood. Both my mother and father exposed us to their love of music and my fondest memories of them involve music; be it sunny days with my dad's car radio blaring classic rock on KZAP, or late night dance parties to Neil Diamond with my mom. The Rolling Stones? The "Greatest Rock n' Roll band in the world", that's who! According to my father that is. Josh would beg to differ. I've said this before: Josh creates the soundtrack to our lives. I love him for that.
3) He tolerates my neurotic nature. He loves me for me. He hugs me even when sometimes it seems I don't deserve it.
4) He's funny and disarming. He's good with people and it takes the pressure off me; a girl who lacks some social skills when it comes to new people and new situations. Often I cling to Josh's side while he takes the reigns.
5) He gets more and more handsome with each passing day. His strength and desire to maintain an active lifestyle matches my desire to be outside, to take advantage of the glorious sunshine I so need to feel normal.
6) Most importantly he is an amazing father to our two young children. Our first born was a little baby girl, and ever since the day she was born, my husband was done for. He adores his Roo Biscuits and he shows it everyday, especially yesterday....
Mazzy had missed her dance class last week due to an ear infection. Yesterday I reminded her that she would be going to dance class and I showed her the new white ballet slippers that arrived in the mail for her. It was about 2:30pm, dance class started at 5:30. Mazzy was fully dressed in her tights, pink leotard, frilly tutu, and stark white ballet slippers. On pins and needles for the next 2.5 hours she kept asking, "Can we go yet?" or "Do I look beautiful mom?" or "More beautiful than last time?" I responded with a , "Yes Mazzy, you always look beautiful, but especially beautiful in your ballerina outfit." or "Are you SOOOO excited?!"
Josh came home about an hour before they were to leave for dance class. Mazzy, all decked out from head to toe (minus the ballet slippers which I insisted she not wear outside) with tutu and rain boots, excitedly came running over to her dad, showing him how she put her slippers in the purple little bag her
best friend's mom had given her 3.5 years ago as a party favor. The bag was perfect, it was small and the slippers fit just right because "they're bendy", of course.
Finally 5:10 appears on the clock and they're off!
As I'm wrangling the two toddlers at home, I hear my phone ring. I look at the clock and see 5:28. Hmmm. A feeling of dread washes over me. I say hello and I hear Josh whisper, "Babe, is class canceled for Spring Break?" My heart drops into my stomach. We missed the last class. The class when the dance instructor PROBABLY mentioned there not being any class this week. So, I tell him they probably mentioned something last week but we were not given a calendar to indicate which days were canceled and lastly I asked, "Does she know?"
(This all sounds very dramatic I realize, however, at the time it felt dramatic.) He whispered, "No. She has no idea." With my stomach in knots I tell him to take her to the shoe store for her tap shoes that we had not had time to get and maybe that would ease the pain a bit after she hears the bad news. I get off the phone with him and pray she's not as broken hearted as I feel for her.
After returning from the store with my supplies for Nacho Survivor Night with the Wilsons, I enter my house to see a very enthusiastic daughter, tapping away on the family room floor. All smiles. A wave of relief swept over me. I bend down and kiss her head.
Phew!
Here's what took place at that deserted dance studio with an excited little girl and her daddy....
Josh explains to her that in the same way that he is off work for Spring Break, so is her dance teacher. He adds that she will now have a private dance lesson; with him as the dance instructor.
You see, the studio door was open and so he led her into the vacant room and whipped out his IPhone, googled "5 basic ballet positions" and created his own private lesson for Mazzy:
I can't help but feel relieved that he was the one to take her to class. If it had been me I would have been much too nervous to open the door to a dance room that was meant for a class that was not being held and probably wasn't technically open to random people using the room for their own use. I would have tried as quickly as I could to leave the premises using the tap shoes as my primary tactic to lift her spirits.
Lately, I'm constantly feeling rushed, putting fire after fire out....leaving little time for quality parenting. I need to slow down and use creative measures that ensure our children are receiving the most from me that is humanly possible. I need to take deep breaths. I need to find pockets of time. I need to dance with my daughter. More. Often.
(Just as he does.)
Love you, babe. For so many reasons.
