Year of Gratitude - Day 211 - My Partner

My husband is my best friend. We have been together since 1999 and I feel like I love him more each day. I know that sounds very cliche, but there's really no other way to explain how I feel about him. Growing old with him will be wonderful. My best piece of advice to anyone who wants a long-term relationship is this: you have to be friends first. If you can't be friends, you can't be partners for life. Also, if you don't love yourself, loving others will be most challenging.

Also, when the server tells you that he is impressed that you ate that much surf and turf, you will regret what you've done in like 15 minutes after your anniversary meal.

Year of Gratitude - Day 181 - Domesticity

On my walk today, I heard this poem. I enjoyed it because it reminds me of the simple joys I share with my husband. Not that I have broken ribs or anything, but that we spend a lot of time watching baseball together and I love every second. He doesn't even like baseball that much, but it's a compromise that he agrees to. For that, I'm grateful.

From: June 6, 2015 Writer's Almanac

Domesticity

by Maxine Kumin

Oh, what a weak sticker, you groan, as the batter pops
out to the infield. We’re propped
up in two beds—mine’s electric, with crib
sides, rented to ease eleven broken ribs —
watching the Red Sox, who are in the cellar
and dozing between Demerol and errors.

You yawn, the resident optimist
no family should lack, always stitching
a selvedge along the silver lining
—the luck of my unbroken pelvis—
so that when in a bizarre twist
they tie it up in the bottom of the ninth
you crow, they’re still alive and kicking!
We rouse as for the crisis of an old friend
and watch through extra innings to the end.

“Domesticity” by Maxine Kumin from The Long Marriage. © WW Norton, 1996. 

Year of Gratitude - Day 101 - Anthony and Jamie

Today, my friends Anthony and Jamie got married. I can't think of two more wonderful, caring, smart, funny, loving people. Seriously, Anthony has been our friend for a long time and it feels like Jamie has been with us just as long. They are so wonderful and great and I am delighted to be considered their friend. Further, I'm honored they invited us to celebrate their love. Their wedding was WONDERFUL! A perfect day in every way!

Sidenote: I really, really enjoyed Batch 69 American IPA from Frankenmuth Brewery. Really. I think we all enjoyed a lot of things that evening. This photo is evidence of that.

#freedomandpoutine

Year of Gratitude - Day 86 - Husband on Laundry Duty

More often than not, when I try to do laundry, I break our washing machine. Hence, my husband has taken over this duty to prevent me from causing chaos. This works out great for me and I'm very grateful. I realize, however, that once we get a new house, and new appliances, I will likely need to get back into the grueling laundry world.

Exactly how much housework does a husband create?

Finally, I have some research to back my claim, ha!

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Having a husband creates an extra seven hours a week of housework for women, according to a University of Michigan study of a nationally representative sample of U.S. families.

For men, the picture is very different: A wife saves men from about an hour of housework a week.

The findings are part of a detailed study of housework trends, based on 2005 time-diary data from the federally-funded Panel Study of Income Dynamics, conducted since 1968 at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR).

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