10 Things My Husband Has Taught Me

PART ONE

1. Love is a choice. I remember when I first learned this from him. We had been dating a month, and some drama had happened with my family and myself. I was reluctant to talk to him about it because I thought that he would think I was being overdramatic (which I was) and then he'd realize that he was crazy for ever originally liking me and he'd dump me. He just looked at me with those amazing green eyes and said, "Allie, I love you. It's a choice I've made. No matter what you say or do, I am choosing to love you."

Isn't he swell? (He is a direct man--one month in and saying the L word!)

2. Love is never on the negotiating table. My guy is quite the leader and when we started the Dance of Marriage, he set the tone in a very great way. He said to me that whenever we fought, whenever we had disagreements, our love was never on the negotiating table. Our disagreements would not lead to 'you don't love me'. We're committed to each other and our love is never on the negotiating table. We love each other. Period. Learning to live with each other peacably...definitely on the board room agenda and up for discussion!

3. There is a right way that the toilet paper goes on the roll.

4. Honor is the most important thing. When we were dating, I remember on our first day of "being a couple", we talked about the physical aspect of our relationship. I shared that it was very important to me that we put boundaries and accountability in place for our relationship because I wanted to honor God and remain pure and save myself for my wedding night. I will NEVER forget what he said tome. Ladies, are you ready for this? He picked up my hand, looked me in the eyes, and said, "Allie, I plan on marrying you. ( I told you he was direct!) When I do, I will make a vow to honour you and to cherish you. The day I make that vow isn't the day that I start to honour and cherish you. I chose to do that before I met you and I have kept myself pure for my future wife. And I want you to know on our wedding day that when I say those vows, you will know me to be a man of honour because I have cherished and valued your purity while we have taken the road to our wedding day."

And then I think I swooned.

5. When swooning, it's helpful to land on a big, strong man. Just sayin'.

6. Cheese is a food group all it's own.

7. It's rude to interrupt people when they are talking. I am not known for good manners. I kinda checked out when my Mom and Grandma were telling me to eat with my mouth closed and not lick my fingers and don't slam the door. My husband is a patient man who has sometimes had to remind me about the finer points of etiquette. God bless him!

8. Adventure is necessary to life. My husband gets me to do the most ridiculous things. Sometimes, often times, they are small things that are embarrassing to me, but no one else. For some reason I get embarrassed to test drive a car we have no intention of purchasing--don't ask me why. But I've learned that everything can be an adventure when we do it together.

9. Being with a left-handed man makes you mindful of how you sit side by side at a restaurant. If you sit the wrong way, you bump elbows the whole time. If you sit the right way, you can hold hands and eat your food with the other hand.

10. It's all about perspective. My husband learned this from a friend of ours, but he really carries this off well. When having to buy feminine hygiene products he has no embarrassment about it. He went with his buddy to pick some "essentials" for me, and he told him, "You know what this means, don't ya? (holding a box of tampons) This means...I got me a woman! Yep. I GOT me a WOMAN!"