The good Lord was creating a model for military wives and was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared. She said, “Lord, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with this one. What’s wrong with the standard model?”
The Lord replied, “Have you seen the spec on this order?” She has to be completely independent, posses the qualities of both father and mother, be a perfect hostess to four or forty with an hour’s notice, run on black coffee, handle every emergency imaginable without a manual, be able to carry on cheerfully, even if she is pregnant and has the flu. She must be willing to move to a new location ten times in seventeen years. And oh, yes, she must have six pairs of hands.”
The angel shook her head, “Six pairs of hands? no way.”
The Lord continued, “Don’t worry, we will make other military wives to help her. And we will give her an unusually strong heart so it can swell with pride in her husband’s achievements, sustain the pain of separations, beat soundly when it is overworked and tired, and be large enough to say “I understand” when she doesn’t, and say “I love you” regardless.
“Lord,” said the angel, touching his arm gently, “Go to bed and get some rest. You can finish tomorrow.”
“I can’t stop now,” the Lord said, “I am so close to creating something unique. Already this model heals herself when she is sick, can put up six unexpected guests for the weekend, wave goodbye to her husband from a pier, a runway, or a depot, and understand why it’s important that he leave.”
The angel circled the model of the military wife, looked at it closely and sighed. “It looks fine, but it’s so soft.”
“She might look soft,” replied the Lord, “but she has the strength of a lion. You would not believe what she can endure.”
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her fingers across the cheek of the Lord’s creation. “There’s a leak,” She announced. “Something is wrong with the construction. I am not surprised that it has cracked. You are trying to put too much into this model.”
The Lord appeared offended at the angel’s lack of confidence. “What you see is not a leak,” he said. “It’s a tear.”
“A tear? What is it there for?” asked the angel.
The Lord replied, “It’s for joy, sadness, pain, disappointment, loneliness, pride, and dedication to all the values that she and her husband hold dear.”
“You are a genius!” exclaimed the angel. The Lord looked puzzled and replied. “I didn’t put it there.”

My husband is…. god, I love him. Sometimes it drives me nuts when he wants to splurge on me and buy me things (mostly because I’m terrible at giving OR receiving gifts. But, mostly giving. I never know what to get!), but there ARE a few rare times that I kind of enjoy it. Anyway, Kris and I decided to get out and go dick around at the mall today. We walked around for about 2 hours only buying a video game (Alice: Madness Returns, which BTW, he’s really enjoying!). On our way out, we stopped into Teavana. I love tea. A lot. So, he kind of drug me in there because he knew how much I love tea. We tried a few samples and we both decided we lovedlovedloved this Peach blossom tea. Well, needless to say, it was pricey. And I didn’t have a tea pot yet, so I couldn’t find it in me to justify buying a $20 tea. Needless to say, he kept hounding me to get the tea. I was going to settle for this $20 tea steeper tumbler-thing that wasn’t anything spectacular because with that and the tea I wanted, it would’ve been a whopping $40. But, they had this adorable blossom tea and pot set that was just adorable. It was a clear pot (especially for the blossom teas) and had the Peach blossom tea and a Strawberry tea. He ignored me wanting to settle and got the $90 set for me and I couldn’t be more touched. It’s absolutely amazing.

When we got home the first thing he had me do was make enough of the peach tea for two and we’ve been sitting here drinking tea and taking turns playing Alice: Madness Returns. We’re an adorable married couple, I know. :)

Even though the hubs is all Chipmunk-faced and loopy and has four fresh holes in his face, these past few days have been wonderful.

I feel so bad that he’s hurting and I know he’s not really showing just how much he hurts, but I am glad that I’ve gotten him for five, uninterrupted days. We’ve been messing with each other and staying up incredibly late talking and snuggling while watching TV shows. And I’m just so happy he did it now instead of while on deployment so I can take care of him. I love taking care of him.

He really does make me feel so completely alive and in love. More and more each day. Even when we’re snipping at each other. He’s one of the most incredible people I know.

Ahh… <3