- Complain a lot. Keep worrying about how close the house is to the road, even after he put up the picket fence.
- Spend too much money. Go shopping a lot. Look at all the lovely home decor, at new towels, at cute children’s clothes without any wear. Get thoroughly dissatisfied with what you have.
- Drop hints. “Those weeds in front of the picket fence just aren’t getting any shorter, are they?”
- Be grouchy when he comes home. “I am so exhausted. You will never guess what the kids did today!”
- Grudgingly throw supper onto the table with never a thought to serving bowls and garnishes. Make sure they all know that it’s all I had time for in this hectic day and I am going to have to scrape myself off the floor by the time the dishes are done.
- Sigh dramatically when the pager goes off during supper. Make him feel really apologetic that he is on-call to support your family.
- Be too tired to be any fun.
If you wonder how I know these things, I will just inform you that I have tried them. They are the besetting sins of wifedom that I try to slay every time they pop up. The last three years have been far from easy for us with Gabe going back to school. Not easy for either of us, but we are almost done, and that is incredible! Tunnels really do have ends!
This is what my man looks like on clinical days. I am so proud of him! If I had a bad wreck, I would want him for my EMT or my life flight medic or my trauma nurse.
We knew it was going to be a long haul, a seemingly endless journey out into the future. There are saner things to do with your life than going to nursing school when you have a family of four. Staying in school despite the financial pinch and another baby and illness with surgery attached? Downright extraordinary!
So I get lonely sometimes and I feel like hurling those 5 pound textbooks onto the rubbish heap. But when I see Gabe heading out the door, excited even about night shift at the hospital where he works, it makes me so happy to stand behind him with all my might. My man gets to do what he loves!
wocket in my pocket 
Love it,Dorcas dear!
This is wonderful!! 🙂
I have a sincere respect and admiration for you and the way you have stood behind your man through all this. And the thing that challenges me the most is your radiant smile and cheerful outlook on life, despite the challenges! Blessings as you finish out this last semester!!! I will rejoice with you so much on graduation day!!
Wow Dorcas, you have really made me think already this morning! This is a good post. I am very proud of both of you! you for standing behind him, and him for being brave and stepping out, one foot at a time until now he is almost done. Seeing Mike and Rich and now Rose go thru this same journey, I can imagine just a teeny bit how hard it can be.
Good girl. I have been married to a wonderful man for 56 yrs. and still have to work on some of those things. Nice to get a good review of what NOT to do.
This would be a wonderful reminder to post on the side of my fridge 🙂 i think i have done them all too. And my husband does not even do night shift:) Although he has considered it…if he ever does, i will come back and read this post and smile bravely:)
Oh! one more thing…i read a story recently.
a husband and wife and family were going to sell their belongings and go on the mission field. The wife was so paranoid but her husband had this delicious sparkle in his eye whenever he talked about it.
She felt like he was on a wild stallion, ready to gallop away into the wide wild unknown. Eventually, she realized the only way for her to be truly happy and at peace was to jump on that stallion with him.
so she did
and they hurled through life.
her husband riding the stallion (God)
and herself behind him,
clinging onto him,
covering his back.
I just LOVE that picture! Blessings!
That is really neat, Anita!
I decided last night, I’m gonna quit commenting on every post, but somehow, you just hit every button there is to hit!:) Thanks for the reminder!! Once again, I admire you and I was just thinking recently of Gabes words this winter about you! (She’s awesome!)when I commented on all your little projects you still manage to do in you busy life! Thanks for allowing God to use you!!
Didn’t you know that bloggers secretly love their regular commenters the most?
Thank you, all you kind people!
Wonderful post!