A Bouquet Card for My Husband

I am out at the grocery store. My husband has just dropped me off with one of our twins who is buckled in the car seat and four year old daughter and takes the other two to get gas. He texts me once he is back in the store to tell me where he is and I go to meet him. I pull up beside him in the chip aisle – he loves chips :).  There we are with our four little ones surrounded in grocery items and a lady and her husband stop to check out the babies. I mean, they are the cutest so how could you not. The lady looks at me and says, “Wow mama, you’ve sure got your hands full..” Then her and her husband continue with their shopping. I look over at my husband and before I could say, “Yes, WE have our hands full”, he says, “And what am I? Chopped liver?!!”

Sadly, this is not the first time we have experienced this and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I don’t want to make this a long drawn out rant about the ignorance of people, or their stereotyping comments, but instead I want to take a quick few minutes to write about how much my own husband actually means to me and how much I appreciate all that he is to our family. I’ll try not to get carried away! I could not possibly sum him up at all in a simple blog post anyway.

One of our friends jokes that Dan is one of those people who just “wins at life”. It’s kind of true though. He just generally succeeds at everything he attempts. He is one of the smartest people I know.  I spoke to a fellow teacher of his, a veteran in the teaching community, and he told me, “Your husband is one of the best teacher’s I have ever seen. He relates to each child on so many different levels. He is book smart so he relates to the nerds, he is athletic so he relates to the sporty kids, he is musical and amazing at art so he relates to the artistic students… he can just meet them where they are. It’s amazing to watch.”

I can’t count the number of times a parent or even a teacher at the school has come up to me and said how much they love my husband. I’ll have a parent say that their kid did not enjoy school or had a hard time at a previous school and now they love coming to school and learning from Mr. Cope. I have teachers tell me how patient he is and ready to help at a moments notice. I hear “above and beyond” a lot. It just makes me so darn proud. 🙂

All of the things I hear people say I can without hesitation agree with 110%. This is who he is wherever he is – at his job, at home, with his friends and family, with me, with our children – everywhere. He is a patient and loving man who always goes out of his way to show others how important they are to him.

While people may affirm my role as a mother, and neglect to acknowledge his, this does not take away from the fact that he is just as much a part of raising our children as I am. He is a fully engaged dad to our wee ones. He changes diapers, and dresses them, and feeds them, and plays with them and snuggles them as much as he can. He will put down his work to snuggle one of twins who is clawing at him to pick them up. He will wrestle with Mackenzie and Eva or do a craft with them even if he has a pile of marking to do. He will get up with them on a Saturday morning, his only morning off, just so that I can sleep in. This in addition to his own job and taking on all the things that come with owning a home. He just does it all – without hesitation and without complaint.

As a husband – well, what can I even say… I remember someone telling me shortly after I got married, “Just wait – the honeymoon phase doesn’t last forever.” Well, let me tell you, sir – I am still waiting! While we have had our ups and downs and neither of us are perfect, we have been married 9 years and I still feel like I’m on my honeymoon. (I mean, as much as you could with four little ones and a lot less sleep!). He makes me feel every day like I am still the love of his life. In little ways every day he blesses me, whether it’s a listening ear, a kiss just because, a quick touch on the arm or back while he’s passing me…even things like grabbing me a coffee on his way home from school or bringing home a bouquet of flowers with a sweet note or even emptying the dishwasher because he knows I hate doing it. He tells me he loves me all the time and that I am beautiful. A princess could not feel as much love and devotion as I do.

So, here’s to my Dan. My husband, my partner, my helpmate, my best friend.. while others might not see all that you do, I know and I see and I am thankful and blessed to have a soulmate like you. I love you Dan Cope!