When Gene and I were married there was one thing I made him promise he would not do at our wedding. It was always my pet-peeve when the newly married husband would make some absurd, wild claim that the girl he married was “The best” in the universe. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense. How can one person be “the best”? Sure, maybe a good match for him, I can take that, but no cockiness that says: “Hey you loser slacker guys out there, you might as well give it up since I have found the hidden prize that you can’t seem to find”. Long story short that was one thing I asked Gene: Please do not say anything along the lines of: “Hey guys, the best one is now taken!”
So I’m not about to make a wild claim that Gene is the best man in the whole wide world. That’s just stupid. There are a lot of areas that one could question our compatibility. We’re both babies of the family so, we both like to be spoiled and think the other one owes it to us to start with the spoiling already. But there is one area that I think I have possibly found the perfect match.
Simply stated: Gracious leader.
He makes the money. He lets me spend it.
That’s not all. He is just so so so un-controlling. (Sorry, I can’t think of a better descriptive word) I cannot remember the last time I’ve come home from shopping and he asked me how much something cost.
If I would say one day: “I spent $400.00 getting a tattoo today” he would probably blink and say “Well, as long as nobody can see it”. (That might be a stretch, since he whipped the Little Mermaid stickers off Elena’s bike in one hurry.)
He lets me be myself, which is such a huge relief, and doesn’t try to fashion me into some kind of cookie-cutter Mennonite house wife.
You could think with all the non-accountability I have that I would run crazy, buying here and spending there, and getting wild tattoos. It tends to work opposite. I value his work much more if he trusts me to make decisions about the money he worked for.
It’s not just financial either. I see it in how he relates to others as well. He always chooses to trust others until they prove otherwise. And I love that about him.
I remember talking to two ladies a while back, and they were talking about how their husbands managed their finances. They both mentioned how their husbands poured over the receipts when they got home from a shopping trip, and asked over and over how much stuff cost. Both of these ladies expressed how glad they were that they had married such frugal men. I remember thinking: Oh my word, I cannot relate. Just because those men look at receipts doesn’t make them control freaks, but for me, Gene’s good natured personality is The Best. I would not trade it for the world. Or for a round trip vacation to Cancun, or for unlimited supply of Taco bell’s Chalupas. Both of which would make nice gifts.
Nope, I’ll keep the best thing for me, the un-controlling leader.
And now I’ll leave you with some pictures of Brandt’s latest projects. His motto is: My House, The Giant Coloring Book.
The Door
The Shower
The Chair
Not too bad for one day, huh?
Andrea Esh 
Great post. But, oh my, what are you going to do about that chair??
busy,busy boy -love your updates!
Awesome post. i totally agree w/ your first paragraph, that is something that has always bugged me too–someone saying that the “best is taken”. i guess if it makes them feel better about their choice, yay for them, but it is very annoying. That said, I think in this case there are two bestest men out there, and I have theother one. yay. You’re right, the whole un-accountability thing doeshave the opposite effect, but then again, i guess maybe I have enoughtight-wad-iveness for the both of us. He prly feels like I’m the onrscrutenizing the reciepts when he gets home.anyway, good luck w/ that chair. I think you need to hide the crayons.
I think your little guy would give mine a run for his money:). Good luck at getting everything cleaned. Loved your post. Even though my husband grew up in a home like you discribed(husbands scrutinizing receipts, he does very good at being the opposite. Whew. Because my dad never said anything about the money spent.
have fun with your surprise visitors, beth’s so excited. ill watch your kids for ya if you want go shopping or out to eat. go for the tattoo and i wanna know his responds.
I loved the post. And Gene sounds very much like my man in that area! And the looks of the door/chair/tub would make any mom sigh. Good luck with cleaning it!
This post is very honoring to your husband. He is a good man. I can’t relate either with the “poring over receipts kind of husband.” And it has the same effect on me too. Makes me wanna be careful and respect the money that he brings in. I feel empathy for you and your colored things. Did I tell you about how well wd40 works on painted surfaces? I don’t know about that chair tho. I suggest washable crayons. I just saw some at Walmart the other week. Never knew there was such a thing.
Amen to paragraph oneYou’re not a cookie cutter, Mennonite housewife?! Shock. Unbelief. How could you betray me so long?Those women LIKED that their husbands pored over their receipts?Kudous for a great brag post that didn’t make me gag.
Don’t envy your crayon cleanup session. It would color me green.
Think maybe I need to send you Mom-the-miracle-stain-remover-woman. You have one seriously laid back hubby! I am often amazed and grateful for the way God leads people together that just fit with each other. Let’s hit Taco Bell next time your here. 🙂
Aww, your husband sounds like a very sweet guy and I love the way you “brag” up on hm, not in a “he’s the best,sorry ladies”(yes, very annoying, I agree), but just a very sweet way, like a previous poster said, Honoring him.
i’m with ya there on the “best” issues too.looks like the wd-40 worked on your door. i’ll have to file that information away for future use. you are a wealth of information to me and you’ve made me realize how thankful i am for a non-receipt combing husband also. and it was wonderful to get to see you again, and hang out a bit….and brent will be forever grateful for your appreciation of museums, for it has kept him out for another little while.
I can’t relate either to liking my husband poring over the reciepts, me being somewhat contrary it would seriously annoy me. But mine doesn’t do that either, and I appreciate it and maybe thats why I try real hard to spend carefully, because he trusts me. As for your colorful little one, I remember my one doing that, but with model paints daddy left in reach. Yeah, non-removable. But the thing is now she’s eight, and her problems aren’t quite as simple anymore as ‘don’t color on the wall, honey’ . It was frustrating while it lasted, but it didn’t last too long. I think you do great at not getting too bent out of shape about the small things!
do you keep your pens in the toy box? a doll, my favorite truck, oh look! mom’s gel pens!btw, it was so much fun going out for brkfast whenever it was! it was the highlight of my weekend. did i tell you that before?
hmmm…. i see that you and your husband are both the babies of families. my husband and i are both firstborns and some people question our sanity. we are still fully sane and it has worked wonderfully for 8 years. looks like 2 babies can make it work too. 🙂