Love letter to my husband

Today was five - count them, five - school snow days in a row, with a homebound weekend thrown in the middle for good measure. The snow didn't fall after mid-afternoon on Friday, but the total inability of the local government to deal with snow and ice in Northwest Arkansas has resulted in roads that resembled skating rinks until the sun mercifully appeared with enough strength to overcome the just-barely-above-freezing temperatures and finally get the roads clear enough that school will be open tomorrow.

Not a moment too soon.

My husband, who has sacrificed so much in support of me, my goals and desires, who is the full time parent to our kids, has to be at his wits' end with our two yay-hoos bouncing off the walls this last week. But you wouldn't know whether he was at his wits' end or not, because in his own patient way, he has managed to keep them occupied without losing his own mind, being cooped up and out of the routine for a full week now.

I thought about that while I was back at work the last three days, how my routine went back to normal after just a couple of days, but he's still waiting for normalcy to return. And he hasn't complained. In fact, he's made the extra effort to find things to keep the kids both entertained and intellectually engaged during the unexpectedly long and drawn-out break from school.

Thursday, the first snow day, he got their worksheets out and got them focused on learning. Friday, he shoveled the driveway and the sidewalk - I think he was the only one in the entire neighborhood - so that we wouldn't be pulling onto a sheet of ice when we finally did get out of the house. Over the weekend, he built Legos and played board games with the kids. Monday, they started a project to build a volcano. Tuesday, he took them to the grocery store, to the movies that afternoon, and finished the volcano so the grand eruption was ready when I got home. Today, he took them out again so that Caroline could buy gifts for a party this Saturday.

I know it was exhausting, boring, and frustrating. But the kids would never know if he felt that way, because he's an even keel, bring-calm-and-order-to-our-house kind of dad. And I so rarely take a moment to tell him how much I appreciate that, how much I need that balance to my whirling dervish approach to so much of life.

It's easy to tell your husband you love him on Valentine's Day, or Thanksgiving, or any other special day. It's easy to bestow words of passion when life is momentous and milestones are being marked.

But this blog is about the things that make up our lives 365 days a year. So Justin, while my words aren't flowery or eloquent, or poetic in any way, I want you to know that I love you for being a great snow-day-dad the last week. You make my life so wonderfully comfortable, even when baby, it's cold outside.