What I Should Say More Often

I am a glass half empty kind of girl. A waiting for the other shoe to drop type of person. While I wish I was different, I have come to accept that I naturally gravitate to the negative. I have also accepted that this means I need to work harder at being positive when I should. And I definitely need to work harder at being more appreciative. Perhaps no one deserves appreciation more than my husband, and I should definitely say it far more often than I do. Troy never tells me no – even when he sometimes should. He says he wants me to be happy. So when I want to buy something, he says go ahead. When I want to go somewhere he says sure. When I wanted to take out a huge student loan to get a Master’s Degree in the middle of the worst economy the two of us had been alive for, he said if I wanted to do it, then I should do it. He loves to see me happy, and I appreciate that. While I often give him a hard time that he isn’t as supportive as I think he should be, that is often the negative side in me coming out. When I was getting that Master’s Degree, he took over watching the kid and cleaning the house and cooking the meals whenever I needed him to because I had papers to write or books to read. When I complain about my job, he tells me to quit and we’ll figure it out (thank God the Type A, non-spontaneous side of me never follows through on that!!). And the last few months, when my world has fallen apart with the issues and struggles with my family, he has talked, and listened, and hugged, and simply been there more times than I can count. He has dried tears, calmed fears, and tempered rage like no one else ever could have. Troy, unlike me, expresses appreciation each and every day. He makes the coffee every morning. He turns out all the lights and locks the doors every night. He tells me dinner is great even if it is fish sticks and tater tots, and even if it is a little crispy or underdone. He tells me I am more beautiful now than the day he met me, even when I have my hair in a ponytail and a mashed banana on my shirt. He kisses me goodnight and tells me he loves me. So while I don’t say it enough, I appreciate my husband more than he will ever realize. Happy Valentine’s Day to the love of my life!