Can't Imagine

Recently, my father was hospitalized for pneumonia. As usual, I was the one called and I was the one who would venture to CA to check in on Dad and make sure he was OK. Frankly, I did it because I felt the need to see him in person. After he spent 2 days in ICU, I was determined that I would be going to LA, whether Dad wanted me to go or not. Turns out he did, and so off I/we went.

My husband, the sweet man that he is, has determined that I am not to drive to and from LA by myself. He worries at the mere thought of it ; never mind that I did it all by myself in the 10 years I lived here before we met. It is still sweet.

Well, while we were there, we took the time to clean Dad's place. It was just one of those things that needed to be done. You know, all the little stuff that you kind of ignore until they cannot be ignored. Well, we could not, and so we did not :-) While I was cleaning the fridge, and Ken was dusting the shelf full of glass fish, I thought of how nice it was that he was here doing this with me. Then I started to feel badly about it. I rationalized to myself that it was no big deal that he was helping me do this, as I had helped him do the same for his parents when they moved to Vegas.

Then it hit me like a knock on the head (as in I could have had a V8) -- Ken has been cleaning my mom's house all year, and now this. My first reaction was to feel badly again. Then I stopped and looked at him. Dusting away. It dawned on me that there is no one I would have rather have done this with. Not only that, but I could not imagine having done all of this in this past year alone; or more specifially, without him.

I have a gaggle of friends who have been supportive and wonderful and all sorts of amazing adjectives, but no one is my Ken. Moreover, there is no one person that I could imagine being as supportive, accommodating, loving and non-resentful as my Ken.

There are times I am frustrated that Ken takes my good qualities for granted and just accepts them as part of who I am. Well, I do the same of him. His patience, and calm in the face of a storm are two of his most amazing qualities, and I never seem to tell him that they are specifically appreciated.

I am coming to accept that this is part of being with someone you love -- you just LOVE them. Good, bad and ugly -- plain ol' LOVE them. I guess as you continue to grow your relationship, little lessons like this are inevitable.

Honey, I LOVE you... Happy New Year, and here's wishing us both a year full of health and success and plenty of good stuff to appreciate.