To My Girl

(I don't know if you always take the time to stop and read this when you open up the internet. I'm hoping the title grabs your attention. Here, I hope to shout from the rooftops how much I love you.)

Let it be known to all that I have an amazing wife.

During dinner tonight, while talking to family, the discussion of household chores (for children/as children) and division of labor (among spouses) came up. The two other couples talked about how helpful and supportive the men were. Then it came our turn, and I jokingly talked about whipping Heather into shape so that she does all the work. Only that is not a joke. She seriously does just about everything. She even joked about cutting our friend's yard, and when the friend inquired if Heather made me go and do it, Heather responded, "Are you kidding? He doesn't even mow our lawn! I did it!" But here is the most amazing thing: she didn't say it reproachfully. She doesn't complain about how heavy her load is. She doesn't screech in my ear that I don't do enough. I can't begin to say how grateful I am for a wife who supports me: who bought a house with a studio before her husband even knew how to paint, who cooks, cleans, chases kids, balances the books, and works on the side so her husband can do what he loves (read, "can be at a job that makes very little money") and then spend hours practicing at his easel out back. If I ever do become a great teacher, or if I ever am able to make a living as an artist, it will only be because of her. That blows my mind.

I have already told her this, but I feel so loved when my wife tells me my hair looks good. She said so in front of her family. That seems petty or vain, but I like to experiment; to change my look. Early on, she was frustrated at my attempts to intentionally look weird, to try a style that didn't quite work, to grow my hair longer (or shave it off) or grow a beard just to see how it looked (okay, okay...and for the attention). But it astounds me the way she has grown. And here's the thing: it's not just that she is more open to my looks or my whims. She is more comfortable with herself--comfortable with the way she looks, secure in her relationship to God, eager to worship and serve him, free to love others and be comfortable with them as they are. That makes me so proud of her. And it makes me feel loved that I can be lovely in her eyes, regardless of the way I look.

And our togetherness has grown over the years. We still have our separate tastes. Hip hop vs. mellow/drama. TV vs. "A Prairie Home Companion." But she listens to NPR because she loves me, and even better, because she is big enough to embrace new things. I can't say I've been able to love rap because she loves it, but she has opened herself to a million things I love, and we now listen to the same things, laugh at the same quoted movie lines, and explore new things together.

To my diligent, hard-working, sacrificial, supporting, serving, passionate, devoted, confident, open, embracing, growing, learning, CROWN of a wife....
HM, I love you.

(Special photo credits to Mandy Rawson who took these phenomenal shots. Thanks!)