A birthday tribute

Several of you have commented on both Facebook and this Blog about how wonderful Will is (and of course, those of you who know him understand this first hand).  So, in honor of his birthday, I wanted to write this small tribute to my best friend and husband…

It is true that Will is everything that you hear about and more.  He holds many of the typical “strong husband” traits – he is a great provider, a hard worker, a problem solver, an incredibly quick learner, a passionate sports (ahem, Atlanta Braves) fan, and a stimulating conversationalist.  He also exhibits all of the more rare but equally wonderful “sensitive male” characteristics – he plays the piano (swoon!), he never finishes a conversation or hangs up the phone without an “I love you,” he is an exceptional father, he cooks, he expresses sincere interest in home décor, he would rather be home with me and the children than anywhere else in the world, and he loves my family (dysfunctional and all).

But Will is also a member of the rarest subsets of males – he is simply a better human being than I could venture to be.  He writes songs for me on the piano (BIG SWOON!), remembers and celebrates every anniversary (wedding, engagement, first date, first kiss, and others that I can’t even remember), sends me flowers on a whim, spends hours upon hours constructing incredible video montages of our children, saves nostalgic memorabilia from past events, tells me I’m beautiful every single day, puts Frances, George and my interests in front of his own, and is simply my biggest fan.

And while all of this sounds ideal, it is not always easy to be married to someone who is this flawless.

Years ago, I remember one of my mother’s friends telling her (jokingly) that she was thinking of starting a support group for women who are married to men who are better people than they are.  She was asking my mother to be a member.  My mother was not amused.

I, however, am beginning to feel the need for such a group – do I have any takers?

Poor Will.  He is married to a true German-blooded Scorpio – opinionated, outspoken, passionate, irrational and moody.  Will is as steady as I am extreme.  He is as accepting as I am judgmental.  He is as sensible as I am illogical.  And do you want to know what the worst part is?  It appears that my personality genes are dominant – yes, both Frances and George have inherited variations of these characteristics as well (one more than the other, but I won’t name names.  GEORGE!).

Somehow through all of my ups and downs, Will is able to maintain his sunny disposition.  I really don’t know how he does it, which only makes me annoyed that I can’t be more even-tempered.  And then I feel bad that I am annoyed at my wonderful husband.  Do you see how the cycle is endless?

Okay, yes, Will is not perfect.  He leaves his dirty dishes in the sink longer than I would like (or my true pet peeve – milk in the cereal bowl.  I mean, please just dump it out, rinse the bowl and put it in the dishwasher.  Am I asking too much?)  He tends to hold on to things and I am anti-clutter to a fault – I love, love, love throwing things away, tossing things into the recycling, and making large hauls to Goodwill.  Will can also fall asleep in approximately .3 seconds and can sleep through anything.  This last trait is particularly annoying when you have a fussy newborn that doesn’t really need anything except to fuss at 3:00 a.m. – and you’re the only parent awake to enjoy it.  Ugh.

But this list of aggravations is pathetically small and as I write it I realize how incredibly lucky I am – I truly cannot think of anything else to complain about.  How annoying.

In all seriousness, here is wishing the happiest of birthdays to my wonderful Will!  Frances, George, Marshall, Max and especially me are so thankful for who you are – in every wonderful way!