Without him, I could do nothing

Today is Friday. It's my husband's day off. He was up early, vacuuming. He plans to spend his day off cleaning and cooking. I will spend the day parenting, (I have never seen a school district with more days off) working, and transporting children.

I have heard stories of men who let their wives do everything. They go off to work and make money, but other than that everything else is the mom's job. She cleans, she cooks, she grocery shops, she handles the bulk of the parenting and he sits and watches this program -- oh wait, no, that program -- oh, just a second, no that one -- during the evening. On weekends he plays golf or bowls or hangs out with his guy friends (or, if he's under 40, plays playstation or an online game).

But it's not like that here. My husband does all of the grocery shopping, meal planning and cooking. He handles our family finances. He and the kids do 90% of the cleaning. And he works more than full time.

So, you ask yourself, what does SHE do? Well, I work two jobs, both from home. I do extra public speaking on the side. I blog. I am also responsible for the school piece -- I do all of the IEP meetings, school conferences, emails and phone calls with teachers and principles. I also do the therapy and psychiatrist peice, and most of the medical and dental stuff. I handle medical insurance, PCA assessments, securing services, and I plan our social life. I take care of talking to kids' friends' parents, getting them where they need to be, getting their friends here and home when they come over, and planning the ocassional get together with adult friends. I keep the family calendar.

SO maybe we're not "Traditional". I don't think either of us is a slacker. But this family would certainly suffer a lot more if he were to disappear than if I would. I know how to cook ONE good meal and you can only have black beans so many times a week. He's the one who keeps us comfortable. He's the nurturer. He's the one they all want to be with.

He's really the best there is. So today when I'm sitting at my desk working, I realize how much we all need him and how grateful we are to have him. And I know I couldn't do any of this without him.