My Husband

Two weeks ago, Todd and I celebrated our twelth wedding anniversary.  I have wanted to do this post ever since then, but I really wanted uninterrupted time to do so.  I have that time now.  Before I start, though, we found out that the biopsies they did on Todd turned out fine.  He does have a couple minor issues right now, but they're all treatable with vitamins and a prescription.  Praise God!  I'll take that.  God is good!

Twelve years ago, I vowed to spend the rest of my life with Todd.  Back when we were still dating, we both agreed that divorce would NEVER be an option.  For multiple reasons, mainly because at that point in my life, I was unsure of solid relationships.  I honestly didn't even believe in marriage when I was younger.  I've spent a lifetime watching marriages fall apart all around me, and the very thought of getting married did not appeal to me.  But God changed that in me when I met Todd.  I met Todd for the first time at kids' camp when I was around nine years old.  Give or take a couple years.  I didn't really know him, though, until I was a teenager and started going to the same church as him.  We were really good friends...I think we kind of secretly liked each other, because we were always joking around with each other.  I was always dating someone else, though, so we never went out.  

I think our first date was junior (?) year of high school...maybe our senior year, now that I think about it.  A friend and I agreed to each ask the other one's interest out to a movie, meaning she asked Todd for me, and I asked Lee for her.  Our first date was to see The Little Rascals.  I think we ate dinner at Huey's, then saw the movie afterward.  I don't really remember a lot of details, but I know that I laughed just about the whole night.  Including the way he asked me if he could kiss me.  I think he used the same line Darla used in The Little Rascals.  

We dated on and off the rest of that year, mainly on, and we went to each other's proms.  When I left for college, he broke up with me, but not for long...we got back together in September, and in October is when he proposed.  Gosh, now that I'm writing this, it wasn't really that long.  Anyway, we were engaged for one year, and on October 4, 1996 we became husband and wife.  Our married life has not always been wonderful...the part people leave out about marriage is how hard you have to work at it.  But we've worked at it, and worked at it some more, and 12 years later, here we are.  We are by no means perfect...I get really cranky every once in a blue moon (just kidding, Todd!  More than that...waaaaaaaaaay more!), and I get snippy, and I get my feelings hurt.  And Todd is a grouch most mornings, and has to be woken up in a gentle and loving way.  He likes his socks folded a certain way, and he makes this annoying little noise in his sleep...but I love all of his ways.  I love HIM, therefore I love everything about him.    

God has blessed me with an incredible husband, one that is never lazy.  My pet peeve is laziness, and if you EVER hear me call him that, trust me when I say I am only joking!  He is the total opposite of lazy~he's the hardest worker I've ever met.  He's a man of integrity~the type that will rush to help an elderly person up from their seat, or to open their door for them.  He is old fashioned in the way that he thinks...he has high standards for our boys, and he teaches them to let ladies go first, always to be nice to ladies, to open their doors for them, and to treat me with respect.  He will not let them talk to me in a degrading way, and he hates it when they ignore me and will jump all over them in a heartbeat.  He's the only man on this earth that I compare to my daddy, and he is a lot like him.  

When I was a little girl, I always wanted to marry someone like my dad~someone who would put on a suit, a tie, and carry a briefcase to work everyday.  Little did I know that I would ever end up with a man who owns not a tie one.  I kid you not.  NOT ONE SINGLE TIE.  He owns a dress jacket, I think, but never wears it.  His idea of being dressed up is a nice pair of khaki's (with no holes) and a polo~style shirt.  What I didn't know at that time was how much he really is like my dad.  They have the same values, a lot of the same qualities, and some of the same attributes.  They have the same beliefs based on their faith, and they even enjoy some of the same things.  The only MAJOR difference is that Todd is a die hard sports fanatic.  My dad~um, not so much.  His idea of a sport is cutting the grass on a Saturday morning.  Love you Daddy, if you're reading this.  

I have been blessed with a wonderful husband.  He loves me, cherishes me, values me, respects me, and makes sure my boys treat me right.  I could not love anyone more than I love Todd Wesley Goodwin.  I love you so much, honey.  Thank you for being who you are, and thank you for what you do for us, as a family.  We all love and appreciate you so much~although after yesterday, I think the boys would appreciate it if you hired me a maid.  Okay, okay, not them, me.  I would appreciate a maid.  Ha ha, just kidding!!!

Some things I love about you:

Your ability to fall going up the stairs, instead of down

Your soft heart

Your kindness to others (except for when you drive...ha ha again)

Your integrity

Your ability to work so hard

Your non~laziness

Your smile

The way your eyes crinkle at the corners

All of your many many many many many scars

Franky

The way you don't get mad at me when I laugh at your small windpipes

They way you don't get mad at me when I laugh at you period

The way you stop and hold our boys when they say, "Dad, can I sit with you?"

The way your hands look

The roughness of them from the hard work you do

The way you're man enough to cry in sappy movies with me

You making me coffee

The way you worry about me when I go into bad neighborhoods by myself

The fact that you're my Todd~Todd (as in Tom Tom)~ and I meant G.P.S.

You coaching the boys in their sports

You throwing the football around with them in the front yard...along with Kari, Tyler, Walker, Harrison, Gretchen....

How you're willing to lend a helping hand to anyone and everyone

How you know when I need to get out, and you tell me to do just that

The way you encourage me when I'm not confident in my ability

The way you make me feel about myself

This list could go on and on, but I'll stop here.  I do love you.  Thank you for asking me to be your wife all those years ago.