In Sickness

If the roles of John and I were reversed, I'm not sure how good of a marriage partner I'd be. 

As I was sitting at the edge of my tub, John behind me washing my hair because standing in the shower proved unthinkable today, I couldn't help but wonder how I would manage doing all of what my husband does for me ...
I absolutely and completely love my husband.  How could I not?
He's hilarious.  Makes me laugh daily. 
He is loyal. 
He is sexy as you know what.
He is a hard worker.
He is a loving and compassionate father.
He is a loving and compassionate husband.
I really could go on...
But, am I any of those things to him??
Could I go out and work every single day, just to come home and take care of him?  Could I break my back climbing up and down ladders, crawling under sinks, or cleaning out gutters - just to come home, listen to him say how sore he is from his chronic condition and then help him wash his hair, assist in changing bed sheets, fold laundry, cook all the meals, and help our child with her homework? 

I definitely like to think I would...
But, would I?

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”  -Helen Keller

Oh, the trials we've been dealing with!  And the hardships.  The scares.  The worries.  The loss.

So, I can honestly say I don't know.  I probably won't ever know. 
But, this is the life that God has chosen us to live.  These are the cards we were dealt.  These are the lemons we were handed... 
Go ahead, use your own cliché saying.  

Almost every person who has gotten married has repeated a form of these vows -

I, ____, take you, ____, to be my lawfully wedded (husband/wife), to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.
Well, we certainly have the "poorer" part down.  LOL!

But, more importantly, we've taken the whole "sickness and in health" for a good and seemingly unending ride.

Of course, when we said those vows, all we could think of was our bright future together.  A cottage in the woods with a couple of children - all topped with the white picket fence and not a care in the world.
I'd like to think that all newlywed couples were as equally as naïve as we were. 

So, this post on my blog is a dedication not to just to John who has taken his vows seriously and has really shown and proven what a good and loving husband ought to be, but to all those men who don't take the easy road out.  Those who don't visit the bar every night on the way home from work.  To those who come home and love with all their hearts.  To those men who aren't afraid of doing a load of dishes. 
To those loyal and loving men, thank you. 
If something awful were to happen and God forbid, I didn't have John in my life anymore, I don't believe I could be fair to another man. 
They'd have some large shoes to fill and a long pedestal to climb up if they wanted to come close to measuring up to my John.
I'm not too sure if John will ever read this blog, but if he does, I hope he knows how much I appreciate his willingness to be a perfect husband.