My "Other Half"
                               

Ahhhhh.....finally! I was able to draaag my butt out of bed early enough this morning to grab a cup of coffee and enjoy a few minutes of quiet! This daylight savings thing messes with me every time! Over the past week or so we have been working our way through various illnesses and I am eagerly awaiting spring. Seriously. Eager. As in, if it doesn't come soon, I have demanded we move south.

So, lets get back to the whole "illness" thing! Last week my three littles came down with a violent tummy bug, all at the exact same time - 9pm. So, my husband and I rolled up our sleeves (no, literally) and began the gruelling process of walking three miserable littles through a night of the tummy bug. Countless sheet changes, hair holds and back rubs later - around 3am, the last little drifted off into a fitful sleep. Hubby and I just looked at each other and began to laugh. Very. very. quietly. It was all we could do. We had just made it through a very yucky, miserable experience and yet - we made it! And the only one I could laugh with in the middle of the night after something like that would be him.
 My husband. My partner in crime. My bestie.
Yep, this one is about him ladies. The one we have been blessed to share our lives with. The man who literally drives us crazy and then turns around and makes us laugh when we should cry. Think back to your wedding day. How long has it been? A year? 5? 15? We are coming up on our 10th Anniversary as husband and wife (although I swear our time together before that counts too! It must!) That day was one of my favorite. Oh I remember our first few years too, they were fun! We had no where near as many responsibilities, our first son was born about a year and a half later. That was fun too! Raising one baby - while tough - fun!
Fast forward. 10 years. 3 kids. 2 Moves. 3 Transfers. Mortgage. Minivan. Dog.
Still fun.....kind of.
Harder. Much harder. Life goes by fast these days. Kind of in a blurr. Its more of a juggling act? A relay race, if you will. We each take turns rocking babies, running to the store, racing kids to birthday parties, unclogging toilets, groceries, doctors appointments, sick littles, off to work, laundry, dishes, skinned knee, etc. etc. etc. etc.

But, at the end of the day it is worth it. It is worth it because I have a partner. He is my other half. I understand that expression now. 10 years ago I didn't. This life we live is a blessing. We are SO blessed. Its hard. Yep, it can be very hard. It drives me to tears at times. But, my greatest blessing is to have that one person walking next to me, sharing in the joy, sorrow, sweat, tears. When the kids are being extra cute, I look at him. Watch him laugh at them. Watch him hold my daughter or teach my son. I love doing this with him.

Don't get me wrong. Its not all sunshine and roses. Not all puppies and chocolate. Oooooh nooooo, not by a long shot. Let me explain. All this lovey dovey, he is the black to my white, peanut butter to my jelly talk? Its true. He is my balance, my partner.
My complete opposite.

Seriously. We are complete opposites. He is calm. I am, um - maybe a bit irrational? He is matter of fact, I am maybe a bit emotional (seriously, though, I like to call it passionate!) He is analytical, plans things out, a bit more of the "measure 28 times, cut once" kind of guy. I am the "wait, we have to TAPE before we throw the paint on the walls? I just wanted to touch it up real quick!"
He drives me bonkers. Bonkers!
But, he is perfect for me. The things about us that are so different are what make us work. (Trust me, two of ME, living in the same world would be catastrophic. I have a feeling.) No, of course we are not going to have the same ideas on budgeting, household chores, raising littles.  Of course we are going to see things differently.
And, this is ok.
He is not me. He is not going to handle the discipline the same exact way (although very important to be on same page!). He is not going to see the house in the same way, he is not going to be able to just know how I am feeling or what is wrong.
But, I owe it to him to talk it out. Tell him. Love him anyway. Its ok that we are different. Actually, thank God we are!

Long after these littles have grown up and moved off (tear), it will be the hubby and me. He came first and will be here long after. We have a game in our house that the kids like to play (no judging!) where they all like to tell us why they are our "favorite" child. Well, one day in the kitchen Hubby and I were standing next to each other while littles were eating, and I looked at him (and willed him to play along with my eyes) and told the kids I would finally tell them who my favorite was. Oooooh you would have thought I was about to tell them where the pot of gold was! They couldn't believe I was about to dish on who it was! I looked and them and at hubby, threw my arms around him and said "Daddy is my favorite".
Oh. Well, they didn't seem to care, or believe me. Until I said "no, I promise you. Daddy is my favorite. He came before you. I love God first. Daddy second. You guys next. Daddy is and always will be my favorite".
Well - chaos erupted. I heard protests from these littles like I had just said we were getting rid of weekends.
My husband at this point stepped in and said "I agree. Mommy is my favorite. God gave me mommy first, mommies and daddies have to love each other first so that together we can love you guys".
Well. There you go. My children learned a very valuable lesson that night. Of course they know we love them. We adore them.
But mommy and daddy are a team, before them and after them. We are not a perfect team, but we are in it for the long haul and have a lifetime to work on it.
Moms, you are not alone. You have a partner. He is far from perfect. But he is yours. He is the one you are navigating this life with. And he will be by your side long after these chaotic years of raising littles are gone. 
Grab his hand, hold on tight and enjoy the wild ride. Don't forget to kiss, hug and dance in front of those littles - let them see you love each other! Even when you may not "feel" the love - it is deeper than a feeling. It is a partnership. A commitment. A secure, safe place to run to in this world. You may not always feel the sunshine and roses, but your partner will always have your back. And, right about now - that sounds pretty good to me.