Dave, the Anchor

I mentioned in our previous post that since the kickball event didn't allow little ones, we decided to divide and conquer for this particular service Saturday. I had hurriedly run out the door that morning, calling back to my husband who was staying home with the little ones, "Why don't you guys make some muffins and visit the elderly couple around the corner?" Smile. Door Slam. Car Starts.

Of course. I should know better. Dave is many things, and he is not many others. But one thing he most DEFINITELY is, its selfless. And service-minded. And handsome. :) He needed absolutely no suggestions or guidance from me.

After an eventful and humbling morning playing kickball, my daughter and I came home to a nearly spotless house. Dave had enlisted the tiniest minions in our household in full scale, hands-on service: do the jobs that Mom and Sister would be doing if they were home. That way, when they got home, they're jobs would be mostly done.

Two things:

First, Dave is the genius here. While I think of teaching my children to reach outside themselves to forgotten corners of our city and world to help others, he remembers to teach them to look at who is standing next to them. He teaches them that it doesn't matter one lick how nice you are to a stranger if you are not nice to the person who lives in the bedroom down the hall. He teaches them that "no success can compensate for failure in the home." Who we are as individuals, as humans, has its roots in how we relate to those who know us best: our family. He remembers this, and teaches them that serving each other, in a family, is one of the noblest acts on earth.

Second, maybe you have to be a full- time stay-at-home-mom to appreciate this, but coming home to find your to-do list mostly done, is like Christmas morning all over again. Its BETTER than Christmas.

I love that man.