Today Eric and I are celebrating our eighth wedding anniversary! We don't have any major plans for the day, though we are working on putting together a date night this weekend. We have spent most of every day all summer long together, but most of it has been a whirlwind of activity so it will be nice to carve out a few hours for ourselves.
A few weeks ago Eric and I were talking and the conversation turned to the topic of my impressions of Eric. I'm not even sure how it came up or what the exact context was, but the question that was hanging out there, as I saw it, was: "Am I impressed by Eric?" I answered something along the lines of, "Of course I'm impressed by you!" because of course I'm impressed by him. I thought that was obvious!
I mean, I think my husband is a pretty objectively impressive guy: he played myriad sports in high school; he graduated with a 4.0 in college; he has a law degree from Georgetown; his first "real" job was at a big law firm in New York City; he gave up his law career in favor of teaching in a Title I School; he's a doting husband and father. Sounds like a pretty stand-up guy, right?
But there's more to him than that. These are just a few examples of things that impress me about my husband:
I'm impressed that after a long day at work, he comes home and jumps right into changing dirty diapers and reading children's books ad nauseam (and he even does voices!).
I'm impressed by the grace with which he handled himself this summer when his mother and grandmother passed. He stepped up to do what he needed to make sure their lives were remembered as they should be. They would have been very proud, I think.
I'm impressed by the amount of time and effort he puts in each and every day to try to figure out what our next step in life is. He is constantly looking for new options and weighing all possibilities. I know that it is always on his mind because he is so committed to making the best possible choice for our family.
I'm impressed by how much weight he gives my feelings about our future location. He knows that I miss New York City so spends hours searching for apartments that might in any way be affordable for our family of four within reasonable distance of the city. I know that if I said, "I want to go back to New York," that is exactly what we would do and he would figure everything else out along the way to make that happen for me.
I'm impressed by his last two years of teaching. Not only is he a finalist for Teach of the Year, after only teaching two years ever, but he is constantly re-evaluating his methods and trying to figure out what is the best way to reach his students.
I'm impressed by his relentless thirst for knowledge. He is forever reading books about things like the economy and history and politics, trying to grow his knowledge base. He enjoys debating current issues because he, unlike so many, likes to be challenged in his beliefs and is eager to rethink his current positions in light of opposing arguments (and he actually does it!).
I'm impressed by his patience with the kids and how perfectly we seem to balance each other out. When I'm about at my wits' end, he is always the calm voice to step in and take over so I can catch my breath. He works hard to teach them things and help me raise them to be good people.
I'm impressed by what a great husband he really is. He is so attentive to my needs and my concerns. He always listens and offers his best advice. He wants to make me feel special. He lets me know he appreciates me and all that I do for our kids. He talks often about how much he values our relationship and how lucky we are, and he is absolutely right.
My husband is a very impressive guy, and I'm so pleased that I am the woman who gets to be married to him. This past year has been another crazy one for us, with a new house, a new baby, the loss of three family members, a marathon, travel, etc. And of course, we are still very much in transition and are working every day to figure out where we are headed next. But even with all that madness all around us, the love we share never wavers. We are in this thing together, and we can handle anything that comes across our plate as partners.
And so, onward! Let's see what else the future brings for us and for our family!
Happy anniversary, Eric, you impressive man, you. I love you so much.
A few weeks ago Eric and I were talking and the conversation turned to the topic of my impressions of Eric. I'm not even sure how it came up or what the exact context was, but the question that was hanging out there, as I saw it, was: "Am I impressed by Eric?" I answered something along the lines of, "Of course I'm impressed by you!" because of course I'm impressed by him. I thought that was obvious!
I mean, I think my husband is a pretty objectively impressive guy: he played myriad sports in high school; he graduated with a 4.0 in college; he has a law degree from Georgetown; his first "real" job was at a big law firm in New York City; he gave up his law career in favor of teaching in a Title I School; he's a doting husband and father. Sounds like a pretty stand-up guy, right?
But there's more to him than that. These are just a few examples of things that impress me about my husband:
I'm impressed that after a long day at work, he comes home and jumps right into changing dirty diapers and reading children's books ad nauseam (and he even does voices!).
I'm impressed by the grace with which he handled himself this summer when his mother and grandmother passed. He stepped up to do what he needed to make sure their lives were remembered as they should be. They would have been very proud, I think.
I'm impressed by the amount of time and effort he puts in each and every day to try to figure out what our next step in life is. He is constantly looking for new options and weighing all possibilities. I know that it is always on his mind because he is so committed to making the best possible choice for our family.
I'm impressed by how much weight he gives my feelings about our future location. He knows that I miss New York City so spends hours searching for apartments that might in any way be affordable for our family of four within reasonable distance of the city. I know that if I said, "I want to go back to New York," that is exactly what we would do and he would figure everything else out along the way to make that happen for me.
I'm impressed by his last two years of teaching. Not only is he a finalist for Teach of the Year, after only teaching two years ever, but he is constantly re-evaluating his methods and trying to figure out what is the best way to reach his students.
I'm impressed by his relentless thirst for knowledge. He is forever reading books about things like the economy and history and politics, trying to grow his knowledge base. He enjoys debating current issues because he, unlike so many, likes to be challenged in his beliefs and is eager to rethink his current positions in light of opposing arguments (and he actually does it!).
I'm impressed by his patience with the kids and how perfectly we seem to balance each other out. When I'm about at my wits' end, he is always the calm voice to step in and take over so I can catch my breath. He works hard to teach them things and help me raise them to be good people.
I'm impressed by what a great husband he really is. He is so attentive to my needs and my concerns. He always listens and offers his best advice. He wants to make me feel special. He lets me know he appreciates me and all that I do for our kids. He talks often about how much he values our relationship and how lucky we are, and he is absolutely right.
My husband is a very impressive guy, and I'm so pleased that I am the woman who gets to be married to him. This past year has been another crazy one for us, with a new house, a new baby, the loss of three family members, a marathon, travel, etc. And of course, we are still very much in transition and are working every day to figure out where we are headed next. But even with all that madness all around us, the love we share never wavers. We are in this thing together, and we can handle anything that comes across our plate as partners.
And so, onward! Let's see what else the future brings for us and for our family!
Happy anniversary, Eric, you impressive man, you. I love you so much.
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