Warning! This is an extremely sappy post. All those who can't stand that sort of thing stay clear!
Today marks the 17th anniversary of the day my darling and I first started dating...I hadn't intended to write anything - after all, it's not a day we celebrate anymore, not the way we do our anniversary (which is in 37 days, but who's counting?)
But a few days ago Michele posted this, gave her answer, and then asked "What else does a "real man" know how to do?" The first version of my answer was tinged with sarcasm, written by my inner snark, and felt off. I deleted it. I told the little snark to take a break, and tried again. This time the words just started tumbling out.
So here, without any more preamble, is the longer version of my original comment. Thanks Michele, for reminding me of all the reasons I fell for him.
A real man? Hmm. I live with one, and in my experience a real man knows how to use his intelligence to recognize & learn what he does not know, and puts that new knowledge to work. A real man takes pride in his home as much as his car, has a soft spot for the vulnerable, and has a great capacity for love, hope, compassion & belief.
He's a study in contrasts and can enthuse about wines one moment, video games the next, and looks just as comfortable at an art show show as he does a hockey game. He knows what type and colour of flowers looks best on the mantel, and buys them not because he "has to", but because he wants to. He knows how important the details are in making a house a home.
He looks forward to being in his parents' company. He knows how important it is to say "I love you", and he does it often, unabashedly, and without guile. He knows how to gain the trust of a way-shy animal simply by being himself.
And he knows that the ties of love are bound by the small and quiet gestures just as surely as the big grandiose ones.
Happy no-longer-an-anniversary honey. You raised the bar so much there's no way anyone else will ever measure up. And that's just fine with me.
13 comments:
Thats beautiful Cin! Lucky Lucky lady, wish my man would manage to pick his washing up and put it in the basket ir maybe take the rubbish out before the bin overflows. I think I would faint if he bought me flowers! We have been together 6 and a half years and he has only bought me flowers once - the day after I had our first daughter, no flowers even for the second daughter!
Oh, Michelle sent me by the way. :-)
There is nothing wrong with sappy. Sappy is good.
Happy Friday from Michele's meet and greet.
Awwwwwwww....that's really sweet! Hiya from Michele's....
That's a wonderful post! Don't apologize for it being sappy. I thought it was a perfect tribute.
Thanks for visiting my blog earlier.
And now...a response from the darling spouse...
I have the greatest wife in the world!!!!
And the nice thing about being a real man is not having to toot your own horn.
Happy original anniversary, babe!
That was really sweet. Sappy is good - especially on a rainy Friday when I miss my own real man husband so much.
A beatiful sentiment indeed. Wives and girlfriends of the internet should write something wonderful about their significant others more often.
Awwww.
Not only did I love your tribute to your hubby, I loved that he left such a sweet comment in reply.
:)
I'm happy you've found someone that's so terrific! Happy Anniversary :)
Hello Cin - I agree with what someone said upthread, there's nothing wrong with sappy posts. This was very nice. Thank you for visiting my blog earlier. I'm so glad you did because now I know about yours. I'll look around some and I look forward to coming back.
That's so sweet. Happy anniversary of significant day you two.
WOW! That is great. An honest description that defines the man. A very powerful post.
Hi, thanks for visting my blog a few days ago. That was a lovely post. Not too sappy at all. Happy Dating Anniversary!
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