Happy Father's Day, Mr. D

My husband, father of my three children, asks me a lot of questions. Most of the time, I do not have an answer for him. Just last night he asked me, while his 2 1/2-year-old "mini-me" sat on the kitchen counter playing with cooking utensils happily, "Why is Henry sitting on the counter?" I thought about it for a second and decided that I will ask the source myself. Using my very serious, judicial assistant, voice, I asked "Henry, why are you sitting on the counter? Your father wants to know." Henry smiled his big smile and said "Maaaameee, nooooo...." Obviously he didn't know what the heck I was asking him. But I persisted, "Henry, your father really wants to know why you are sitting on the counter. If you cannot articulate yourself, I expect you to write a 5-page report detailing the reasons and explanation as to why you are sitting on the kitchen counter." I tilted my gaze towards Mr. D and, quickly, he said "I got it, I got it, smart aleck."

Instances like the one mentioned above is nothing new in our daily life, which will be 22 years this October, and he is still learning that, although as intelligent as I am, I do not have all the answers. Some of his questions I can answer with an educated guess, like "Where is my U of O shorts?" "Try the laundry room?" "Where are my dress pants?" "In the closet." But some questions, unless Santa finally brings me the crystal ball which I've asked for since I knew of his existence, I will never, ever, be able to respond, i.e. "Why can't the kids pick up after themselves?" "??" "Why does Henry have to destroy everything we have?" "??" "Why couldn't it rain AFTER I mow the lawn?" "??" "Why do people have to drive like idiots?" "??"

Then again, he always know how to answer my questions. Pulling up a pair of Levi's, I asked him "Do I look fat in this?" He didn't even blink "Welcome to my world." Shopping together at Macy's, I said (in reality, indirectly asking) "Oh, this ____ (you may use "shoes", "purse", "skirts", "necklace", "bracelets"...etc., to fill in the blank.) soooo cute." He said "Get it if you like it." Never mind that the walk-in closet is filled with my stuff and he keeps most of his suits in his office. Came home from work one evening, I announced "I am taking a girls' trip to Washington D. C." He didn't even raise an eyebrow "Have fun." I wanted to learn horseback riding, so I can ride with one of my best friends. "Sure. Be careful." he said. The most outrageous thing I said to him was "Do you think I can run Pear Blossom 10-miles next year?" He knew I hadn't run since elementary school at that time but he said "Do it."

Oh, all right, he did say "no" to me a couple of times: I really, really wanted a Smart car before we knew of the existence of our "unexpected blessing." He said "Not a snow ball's chance in hell." citing the danger of such a car which is no bigger than a golf cart. I texted him while I was at Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History, inquiring the possibility of his obtaining the Hope diamond for his beloved wife. He didn't even bother to reply - I took that as a "No." Imagine how crestfallen, how disappointed I was which is a darn good justification for retail therapy, right? Darn right!!

And what was he doing when I was out riding horses, running or touring the Capitol? Vacuuming, doing laundry, yard work, hanging out with the children and, once in a while, taking naps. This is in addition to 50 plus working hours per week. I often think and truly believe that marriage is a lottery and I've won a big prize. He is the consistent and solid segment of my life when everything, everybody is changing and becoming. Without having to understand every single strain of my thought and every details of my ideas, he takes me as I am - moody, sentimental, cranky and maybe at times, crazy - and he says "It's all good."

As usual he doesn't want anything for Father's Day or Birthday or Christmas... So I am dedicating this post to him. As he would no doubt agree that it's "cheap and cheerful." Happy Father's Day, Mr. D.