I Will Be Here

When D and I got married, we chose the song "I Will Be Here" for our processional. The song said in words what we hope to prove to each other in action. And indeed, D has proven his vows to be there for me and take care of me over and over again.

I heard on the radio about a contest where I could write about why my husband is the best husband in the world. What a difficult contest to be a judge for! How can we say one husband is better than another? What are the attributes of a great husband? Well, I'm not sure I can answer those questions fully, but I can share why I think D is a wonderful husband.

Since I started working in September, I've been waking up at 6am to get ready. D gets up around 6:40am, after I have already left the house for work. I get ready as quietly as I could, but I turn on the small light on my dresser, so the light shines on his face. Once, I tried to put my contacts on and change in the bathroom to avoid shining light in the bedroom, but no matter how many baby steps I take or hold my breath for as long as I could in the dark, I always manage to wake D up. Recently, I told D that I would be willing to sleep in another room entirely just so I wouldn't wake him up. He hugs me and says, "Yes, my sleep is disturbed when you move around the room to get ready. But, when I wake up, well, that's how I know you are there. It feels good to have you around. So, I don't want you to sleep in another room; I want you always to stay with me." If you know D, he loves his sleep. For him to sacrifice those precious moments of more sleep just to be reassured that I'm there is a testament of his love for me.

Another instance where he has shown love recently was just from last night. I tend to have an over-active imagination, but it's just the way I am and sometimes these thoughts become very real for me. I feel a little silly admitting this to you (most of you would be laughing at me and twirling your finger in a circular motion by your temple, hee, hee!), but last night an eerie feeling had come over me while I was in the shower. Every time I closed my eyes to wash my hair, I saw a horrible image in my head and then felt that someTHING was watching me. Even though D had already gone to bed, I called out his name. I thought that if I heard my own voice, I would feel silly and the dreaded feeling would disappear. Instead, the feeling got stronger and I called out D's name louder the second time. When he still didn't show up, I panicked and started to get myself out of the shower -- only I was too scared to in case whatever I was imagining was out there waiting for me to come out of the shower. Then, in burst my hero, not in shining armour, but in his worn out jogging pants and a faded ten-year old frayed sweatshirt. But, good enough. After I timidly told him why I had called out his name, instead of ridiculing me, he stood at the door and hummed and chatted with me to let me know he was nearby while I continued on with my shower.

D cooks delicious dinners without complaint, runs errands on his days off even though he could've been catching up on sleep that I deprive him of on weekdays, finds time to chat with his parents and friends on the phone without shirking any responsibilities at home, and he actively listens to all my stories of my work day.

I know friends who are great husbands to their wives and I'm happy for my girlfriends, but today I am declaring that my D is the best husband I could have ever asked for!

I will be here when you feel like being quiet
When you need to speak your mind, I will listen
I will be here when the laughter turns to crying
Through the winnin', losin' and tryin', we'll be together
'Cause I will be here
~~ from "I Will Be Here" by Steven Curtis Chapman